What You Want
by ButI'mNotAWrestlingFic
Summary: Becky's feelings for Finn haven't gone anywhere in 15 years, and when the two of them move in as roommates, it only gets stronger. There's a glimmer of hope when Finn's personal demon makes a move, but she'll quickly learn the cost of getting what she wants. M for sexually suggestive themes and language. [Finn/Becky] COMPLETE
1. A Proposition

Chapter 1: A Proposition

"Is my hair aiight?" she asked, twisting two sides with her hands and letting them fall over her shoulders. She had been fidgeting the entire time the crew was setting up, and felt a twinge of frustration from it. _Stop being nervous, you're not going to say anything dumb._

"You look lovely, Becky." Michael Cole settled into the fold-up chair across from her, notecards in hand. She knew what those cards would say, and her stomach dropped as he said, "everyone ready?"

"Let's go," she breathed in deeply.

"You've known Finn Balor a long time"

"I 'ave, we met at his wrestlin' school in Ireland, I was…uh… about 15," Becky felt a small smile creep onto her face, remembering that first day in a dingy gym. It smelled like sweat and everyone was shouting. Finn was mid workout but came over to introduce himself and he sheepishly apologized for not wearing a shirt as he shook her hand. Becky tried to push away that thought and focus. "That day really began my wrestlin' career."

"So you've seen him all the way through his journey to become a WWE champion, what's that be like?"

The smile returned. She couldn't help it.

"From the moment I met Finn, I could tell he was, well he was special. He is, without a doubt, the 'ardest worker in the room, no matter where he is. He believes in respect, in discipline, he wants to do everythin' the right way."

"What's your relationship with him been like over the past 15 years?"

"Finn is…" _Watch yourself Bex_ , she told herself, "see, he took me under his wing when I was really young. None o' the other trainers at the gym wanted the job o' trainin' a girl, but Fergal, I mean Finn, he wasn't afraid he would **break me** or somthin'. "

"He must've done a very good job, you've been vying for gold yourself here in WWE."

"That's very sweet Michael." It wasn't. She found her hands fumbling with the ends of her orange extensions again.

"So as a result," she continued the story, "he became, and continues to be, the absolute best friend I've ever 'ad." The smile was back, and it was widening.

"Could you elaborate?" _Of course, they love to get me gushing over him._

"We spent a lot o' time together, workin' all over the world, Ireland, Japan. You get to know someone, like, on a whole 'nother level when you watch them work and train and compete, day after day. You see someone differently when you see 'im get beaten down, and get back up. Finn is pro'ally the greatest competitor and also the greatest man I've ever known. There's no one more deservin' of the WWE Universal Championship, no one."

Michael Cole was nodding his head, looking down at his notes. He glanced up when she stopped speaking, "I think that covers just about everything. Thank you Becky."

"Was that aiight? Did I ramble there at the end?"

"We might edit, but it was good emotion, the video producers have a lot to go on there. See, promised you it would be fast."

"Right, I get it, won't exactly be hanging around backstage at RAW very much." She removed the mic from the top of her blouse and handed it to the crew.

Outside the halls were buzzing, Sasha Banks stood outside of catering with the Women's Championship over her shoulder, and a mob of wrestlers, crew, and suits surrounding her. She waved as Becky walked past, and nodded towards the exit of the arena. Becky grinned at her friend, it was a s unnecessary gesture. She knew where to find Finn.

Stepping out to the humid night, he was exactly where she knew he'd be, sitting with his back towards her on some production crate. Dressed in black sweatpants, he was trying to hold ice to a bruise in an awkward place on his bare back. For most people, Finn wouldn't let his quiet moment of contemplation be interrupted, but Becky was a rare exception.

"Who do ya think ya are?" She said, approaching him, "first night in the big leagues and you're a number one contender?"

He looked away from the spot in the sky he'd fixated on, a wide, toothy grin across his face. Removing the ice from his back he said, "Didn't think I could do it? Is that why ya disappeared?"

"They pulled me into an interview about you the moment they rang the bell." She lifted herself onto the crate and scooted next to him, "Crews are separate now, needed the footage before I got to SmackDown."

"Did ya say horrible things?" His eyes always shone when he teased her, "That time in Brogue?"

"Oh god Brogue!" She tipped her head back and laughed, "I almost forgot about Brogue."

"The greatest after-party disaster of my career." He picked the ice pack back up and stretched his arm behind his back, trying to find the bruise again. His face twisted up the way it did when he was in pain, but wouldn't admit it.

"That looks nasty."

"It's like, you know when ya get an itch but you can't reach it. It's there."

"Here." She took the ice pack from his hand and moved it to the bruise on small of his back "Better?"

"Yeah…thank you."

With him facing away, she realized how close to each other they were. Her hips just barely touched his backside, and she could see the tiny hairs sticking up on his neck. They were always doing that, finding themselves closer than they had realized. She moved her hair to one side, and it brushed up against the back of his arm. He shivered a moment, but didn't say anything. They sat there, in silence for a minute, Becky feeling the heat from his body and trying to will her heart beat down to normal.

"I'm glad you came tonight," he turned his head slightly to meet her eyes. "It's hard knowin' you won't be there e'ery night."

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world, or the extra sleep tomorrow mornin'. Besides, I wanted to see Sasha's title match in person. It's not alllll 'bout you."

He smirked, "Course not." He turned his head back again, "hey."

"Hey?"

"How's your apartment search going? Portland, that is?"

"On hold," she switched the hand holding the ice pack to his back, and shook it out, "with training for last night and the new schedule, I've just been too busy."

"Well… I was just thinking…" he bit his lip ever so slightly.

"What?"

"If you're on SmackDown **and** you move to Oregon, I'm never gon' see ya."

"Yeah… I've been tryin' not to think about it honestly."

"You really talked the city up, all those parks and microbreweries, whatever that is, you must think it's damn near magical."

"I'm excited," she said, hesitantly,

"And I miss autumn."

"Autumn?" Why did he always spend forever on the set up? She tilted her body away from his, sure he could feel her heart pounding now.

"Don't you hate that 'bout Florida? No autumn."

"I suppose. Finn, what are you tryin' say?"

"Let's go together. We could save some money by splittin' a place, and we'd actually get to see each other when we're not on the road. "

"Yeah, okay." The words came out of her mouth quickly, too quickly.

"It'll be fun, right? Like the good ol' days, just without all the others sharing that one bathroom." That made her laugh, and yes, she missed those days. "I got a broker up there, I can have him start sending over some two-bedrooms."

"Right…Two bedrooms," her stomach dropped a little bit, of course that's what he had meant, she'd known that. "Sounds like a great idea."


	2. It's Perfect

Chapter 2: It's Perfect

"That is **literally** a terrible idea."

"Gee thanks for your support Sash." They were standing in the hotel bathroom just half an hour later, getting ready to celebrate Finn's victory at the bar downstairs. Becky twirled a piece of her hair around the barrel of her curling iron, "What's so terrible exactly?"

"Bex." She said, pulling her eyeliner pencil away from her face and looking at Becky in the mirror, "Come on."

"What?" She combed her fingers through the new curl.

"I know." She said, leaning into the mirror to line her eye.

"Know what?"

"Becky, I saw you watch his match tonight. I see the look on your face every damn time you see him. I'm your best friend," She stepped back and assessed the wing eyeliner, then looked at Becky. "You can't hide from me."

She sighed an looked over at Sasha, "look," she said quietly, "I gave up on that idea a long time ago."

"This is gonna be really, really painful if you do it. Being around him all the time? You'll go insane."

"I've done it before, I'll be fine," She pulled her curls into a high ponytail, securing it with an elastic. "It'll be worse never getting to see him, it always is."

Sasha frowned disapprovingly, but didn't press the issue, "You ready?"

Downstairs, the bar was crowded with mostly WWE employees. They always took over the hotel when they rolled through town, like a loud, sweaty wedding party. Finn waved to them from a back booth with the New Day gang.

"Ladies you look wonderful tonight," said Xavier Woods, moving out of the bench so she could slide in next to Finn. "Becky are those heels?"

She rolled her eyes "I own heels, and I can still kick your lass all the way to Brooklyn."

"Oh I don't forget it. Hey Sasha, can you help me with something?" He pulled out his smart phone and the two of them were engrossed in their own world of Pokemon. Kofi and Big E were talking shop about their match last night, and so Finn leaned in to Becky's ear.

"I ordered you a whiskey sour, is that aiight?" his breath was hot against her skin, it gave her goosebumps

"You did?" She turned and met his eye.

"Noticed you've been drinking 'em recently"

"Yeah I…Yeah. Thank you."

"I didn't get to tell you about what Hunter said after the match…" He kept his lips close to her ear so she could actually hear his story. They were crammed into the booth and his hand fidgeting on his leg would just brush up against her every now and then. She felt a pang in her stomach every time, hoping he would just linger for a moment. He had once, when she was 19 or 20, at a bar on some tour. She couldn't remember the details, just how good it had felt to have his hand on her knee. After a moment he'd realized what he'd done and quickly removed it, murmuring something about it being inappropriate. Years and years later, she knew what the fidgeting meant, or rather, what it didn't mean.

Sasha caught her eye from across the table, she smiled softly, that look of, "I hope you're happy," before looking back down to Xavier's phone. Their drinks arrived and Sasha grumpily ordered a vodka soda when she saw everyone else take their drinks.

"You gotta send someone with your order if you're gonna take an hour to get ready, like Becky did." Kofi said sipping on a beer.

"Excuse you, we were gone 20 minutes"

"We're pros at fast hair and make up," Becky added, "Also you spent those 20 minutes playin' Pokemon Go so."

"This is true," Xavier said, "I just can't get it to evolve…" Sasha leaned back in to try to help him, and Finn returned Becky's ear.

"So I heard back from my broker,"

"Already?"

"He's a family friend and I…uh…may have asked him 'bout this last week." He grinned sheepishly "I was really hopin' you'd say yes."

He opened an email on his phone, pictures of a two-bedroom apartment in Downtown Portland. It was bright and full of old charm. "That's beautiful, hey, is that a dishwasher?"

"I know that was my reaction too," he laughed and looked her square, "You like it? Honestly, we can keep looking if you don't, he just thought it'd be perfect."

"It is. It's perfect."


	3. The Demon

Chapter 3: The Demon

The rain was beating down outside her window, the wind was shaking the trees so hard the branches raked against the glass. Every move they made caused the floorboards to creek.

"Ya think this place might be 'aunted?" Finn asked with far too much eagerness, as he walked backwards holding onto the head of her mattress.

"No." She said shortly. She was frustrated and drenched from head to toe. This was the last of it, but she already had enough by the time they had gotten the keys from the office.

"Oh cheer up now, " he backed up to the edge of her iron bedframe, "Ready? One...two...three."

They dropped the mattress into position, and Becky immediately collapsed on to the bare bed, exhausted from the day she had endured. Her flight was delayed, and somehow the moving truck was even later, then Finn didn't get in with his for close to two hours. The apartment was a third floor walk-up, and it must've taken 10 trips to get everything in the place between the two of them. It had been a while since she'd moved last, when she first came to NXT, and she had forgotten how depressing and exhausting the empty rooms could be.

It was almost too much, all the changes at work, getting separated from almost every friend she had made in WWE. Her feud was at a dead end, the women's championship was on the other brand, and she was expected to lead the tiniest women's division she'd ever seen. Six women. Six women were supposed to somehow push women's wrestling into the new era. The thought of it was exhausting, and it was all she could think about today while waiting for Finn in a vacant apartment.

Finn seemed to know what she was thinking, but in fairness she always wore her heart on her sleeve. You never had to guess with Becky. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple, stressed and irritated. Looking down at her he said, "Move over." She scooted and felt him lay down next to her, taking her had and squeezing it.

They lay there in silence for a while. Finn had always liked the quiet. The only sound was the rain hitting the roof, the wind whipping through the trees. For some time, it felt like there was nothing but the heat of his body next to hers. That heat. It was like she knew the exact temperament of his skin at all times. It was so familiar, always brushing up against her or squeezing her hand. And it was truly, deeply wonderful, if only for a moment.

"Feeling better?" He said eventually, noticing the smile that had started to form on her face. She looked over, wondering how long he'd been looking at her.

"This place is great, really. Movin' just…sucks."

"Movin' does suck. And you, you are puttin' too much pressure on yourself." He always knew. "You want first shower? Seems like you need it."

"Nah that's aiight, I wanna make my bed."

He made his way directly across the hall to the bathroom, and for several minutes she could hear him fiddling and cursing at the shower controls.

"You want 'elp?" She shouted to him as she dug through boxes looking for her sheets.

"I got it!" Becky rolled her eyes.

She was pilling pillows against the wall next to her bed when the water stopped and the bathroom door opened. She glanced behind her as Finn stepped out of the steamy room with a towel wrapped around his waist. She felt paralyzed looking at him. In this industry, men with six-packs came with the territory, and she'd seen Finn without a shirt more times than she could count. She'd seen him bounce around in trunks cut tight, showing far more of his strong thighs than this moment. But something about the implication, the picture of him dropping the towel was burning into her brain. She watched as a droplet of water from his hair ran down his chest and down to the top of his trimmed abdomen.

"Uhh…" _Say something fast girl._ "How's the water pressure?"

"Not bad, " He walked over, running a comb through his messy hair. "The vents are shite though, probably have to leave the door cracked." He leaned against the doorframe of her room and toothily smiled at her. "Ah, always gotta have your little readin' nook"

She was taken aback by his casualness, it had been a long time since they last lived together. Still she fought to keep level headed, pulling her eyes away and sitting on the bed. "Oh shut up. Ya know not all of us find meditating on the hard floor to be quite so relaxin'"

He laughed "I like it, I still have to unpack all my Lego from…" he trailed off, catching the look in her eyes and red in her cheeks. "What?"

"Nothing." She said too quickly, shaking her head and biting her lower lip. Her eyes kept pulling back to the edge of his towel, it sat lower than his wrestling trunks did, showing off just a tiny bit of the top of his lower body.

"Oh…" Finn followed her eye line, looked down at the towel, and turned red himself "I'm sorry 'bout that."

"No, no, it's totally normal. This is your house, it's just…"

"I didn't mean to…"

"No really, I'm sure we've seen each other…indecent maybe a thousand times before." She glanced down, then back up at him. "Been a while huh?"

He nodded, "Not kids anymore." He started to fidget with the edge of his towel, "listen, I'm gonna change but, when you're done with the shower can we tackle that Ikea couch in the livin' room?" She groaned and he pleaded, "I know, I know, but we both have to be back to work Friday and it's never gon' to get done."

An hour and a half later they were sitting on the rug of the living room in their pajamas, with two glasses of wine and pages of instructions. Becky tried to decipher the little pictures, but Finn was quickly losing his patience. They had made it almost ¾ of the way through, and now it simply didn't make sense.

"I don't understand!" He said, searching for where the base connected to the seat. "Which one is part A again?"

"Uhhh…flat." He glared at her, so she tried again. "Sorry, it should be by your leg."

"This? What the 'ell is this? How is it supposed to…ugh!"

It had been like this for the last 20 or 30 minutes. For someone normally so mild tempered, when something rubbed Finn the wrong way, it really ate at him. Sweat was breaking out across his forehead, the veins in his neck were pulsing, and his face was a deep red. She knew when he got like this to just let him sort it out, he always did. He was cursing constantly, his brow was deeply furrowed and his face twisted.

But watching him, she could see something in his eyes change… he got quiet all of a sudden, laser focused. He took the instructions from her hands and she didn't fight it, instead picked up her glass and sipped while watching him carefully. The way he started to move, jerky and strange, but almost familiar. It was like remembering the very last bits of a dream. No, she was sure, she'd seen him like this before. Before and after big matches, he moved just like that, his eyes focused just like that.

"I think I got it." His voice was thick and almost horse. It was strange. He hadn't looked at her but she hadn't taken her eyes off of him. Yeah, she knew that voice. He worked quickly finishing the couch, taking apart where they had attached two pieces incorrectly and putting them back together. She sat there sipping her wine, her eyes fixed on him.

When he was done he looked at it for a minute, silently, blinking his eyes rapidly. Eventually he looked over at her, and that look she'd just barely recognized was gone.

"We finished the couch." He said, clearly not knowing what else **to** say.

"That we did."

"More wine." It wasn't a question. He got up and practically ran into the kitchen, but she followed.

"Finn." He wouldn't look at her.

"You want some more? There's about half." He only ever talked quickly when he was nervous, and Finn was never nervous.

"Finn." She repeated.

"I like this, it's a little sweet but…"

"Fergal." She said softly. That made him stop. The only time she called him by his real name was when it was important. "What just happened in there?"

He looked down at the half empty bottle of wine, afraid to meet her gaze. "Ikea is really frustratin'…frustratin' enough to…well…"

"Wake the demon."

"Seems so," He looked up at her with those sad eyes he did so well. "I usually have to tap into it …but…there are times it just decides to take over."

"I've seen him before, over the years. I hadn't put together…"

"Becky." His face suddenly got solemn and hard, "I… I just need ya to know…I'd never, I'd never hurt you when I'm like that. Or ever, but I mean specifically, when I'm like that." He was talking quickly again.

"I know that."

"The Demon…it's rash and careless, it moves fast and doesn't think twice 'bout risking somethin', and,"

"He's really good at Ikea." That made him chuckle, it was ridiculous, they both knew it. But it had only been a matter of time before she'd seen it.

"For all it is, it's not immoral."

She knew this already. As he spoke she was piecing together a decade and a half of clues of what The Demon really was. Most people assumed it was a gimmick, and she had known it was more than that, but never really looked to see how deep it ran until now. He had nothing to explain, but he would always try to protect her.

"And it would never touch you," He said with such earnest, "ever."


	4. A Moment

Chapter 4: A Moment

It'd been a long week on the road, house shows and constant press events. Backstage was smaller now that they were split, and Becky was still figuring things out. Tuesday night, the last of the workweek, was turning out to be particularly stressful since SmackDown went live. There was more pressure on them to perform, everyone in Stamford was counting on those ratings.

She sat at catering finishing dinner a couple hours before show time, half listening to Alexa Bliss and Carmella chatter about the matches tonight. Becky was happy for them, having trained with both in NXT before she was called up last year, but it would take some time to really get close. Despite insisting she was fine on her own, she missed Sasha, the New Day, Corey Graves, and Finn. Definitely Finn. They were always running in and out of the apartment. Maybe one or two nights a week they got to go to a local bar or sit watching Documentaries on Netflix. It wasn't enough.

"What do you have tonight Becky?" Carmella snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Oh um. Backstage promo with Nattie, we've got to find a way to heat that up a bit…"

"Maybe," Alexa leaned forward with a devious look in her eye, "You could insult her cat."

"Or her husband?" Carmella sipped at her protein shake.

"Oh don't bring poor Tyson into this." Becky laughed. "But Cesaro did lock in a better sharpshooter than her the other night."

"That's good," Alexa laughed, "that's really good. Hey by the way, how's the new place?"

"Barley seen it," The other two nodded, they'd barely seen their homes too. "But it's quite nice and a lot bigger what I had in Orlando."

"Is it weird living with Finn?" Alexa asked, looking up from retweeting the hype around her match.

"Nah, we go way back. He's one o' my best friends so."

"Have you walked in on him naked?" Alexa's devious look was back, she was leaning forward on her elbows.

They all laughed, and Becky quickly responded "No, no I 'aven't"

"Why not?" Carmella raised her eyebrows and chuckled. Alexa burst out laughing, and Becky followed suit. All she could think about was how she was getting home to him tomorrow, clothed or otherwise.

When she finally dragged her suitcase into the apartment, she was achy from the long flight, a downside to living on the west coast.

"I'm home!" she shouted into the apartment but was met with silence. Dropping her bags down on the couch, she spotted a note on the kitchen table.

 _Bex,_

 _At the gym. Hope you had a good flight. Leftover banana pancakes in the fridge._

 _-F_

She sighed, he was down in the gym constantly with SummerSlam only a week and half away. It made it hard for their schedules to line up, and he was a lone wolf when it came to his workouts. But, she couldn't argue with banana pancakes.

She settled in with her pancakes on the couch, catching up on the shows she'd missed all week. Half an hour later, she heard Finn's key in the lock, and panicked. She hid her empty plate in the shelf of the side table and jumped back into her seat as he walked through the door.

"Hi…" he looked at her, suspicious.

"How's it goin'?" She smiled sweetly, but knew it was already over.

"Fine…" his eyes narrowed, he placed his gym bag down on the floor and slowly walked towards her. "What's wrong?"

"Nooothin'…Don't, oof." It was too late, he was standing over her, eyes scanning until he found the plate from where she'd attempted to conceal it.

He leaned down right on top of her, his face brushing against Becky's, to pick it up. "Were you eatin' on the sofa again? You know how I feel about crumbs." He sat down on the couch close to her, placing the plate on the coffee table and looking at her disapprovingly.

"I never agreed to that rule." She pushed in, staring him down.

He did the same until their noses just barely touched. Becky kept her gazed fixed but could feel the blood rushing up to her face. That heat was back, the tingling of her skin under his warm breath. This is what they did whenever they fought, stare downs were the way to solve all their problems. So she'd learned long ago to resist the urge to lean in and meet his lips. Somehow, after all that training, today she found her eyes being pulled down. Looking at his chapped lips, turned up ever so slightly on the corners, the voice saying _it'd be so easy_ was stronger than ever.

"I win!" It was only a moment after she'd locked her gaze on his lips. Her eyes darted back up. "You aiight?" he asked more softly this time. He had seen it, that moment of weakness and temptation. Maybe he had felt it too, or maybe he just felt sorry for her.

"Oh, you know me, I hate to lose."

"Well loser cleans up," he handed the plate back to her. "That's a rule."

She sulked over to the kitchen, "you want somethin' to drink while I'm over here?"

"A water if ya don't mind."

"Water?!"

"Been on detox since Friday. Thanks," he said as she handed over a bottle from the fridge and sat down across the couch from him. "Biggest match of my life is in less than two weeks. I hav'ta be in the best shape of my life."

"Lame." She leaned back, curling her legs up to her body. "I'm proud of ya, you know that right?"

A big toothy smile broke out on his face, "I haven't done anythin' yet."

"That is completely untrue."

"I'll give you somethin' to be proud of," He leaned forward and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. When their eyes met, his were twinkling, "I promise."

Becky felt her breath leave her as his hand lingered on the side of her face for just a second. These little moments were becoming more and more frequent. In truth they had been all along, the chemistry between them was strong ever since the first time they met.

"Aiight, I need a shower." He said abruptly, grabbing his gym bag on his way out of the room.

In all the years she'd known him, she'd never been able to work out what was running through his brain. It felt like a massive discrepancy, he could look at her and just know any secret she'd try to hide. But him, he kept it all under lock and key. For years she was convinced he just felt like he was an older brother who had to protect her. It was clear that wasn't true when she'd gotten old and saw him looking at her every now and then. The more he'd instigate these little moments, the more she was sure there was **something** on the other side. What it was, she couldn't begin to understand.

She sighed and made her way back to her room, leaned against her pillows and pulled her book out of her tote bag. Crossing her legs she opened it, but then found herself looking up across the hall. The bathroom door was open just a crack, the light from inside spilling out. She could hear the water running and chuckled to herself over Alexa and Carmella's comments yesterday.

But then she placed the book down on her bed, and uncrossed her legs. Before she had thought the whole idea through, she was at the door of the bathroom. She knocked her knuckles on the door, moving it just the slightest bit more open.

"Hey Finn?"

"Yeah?" He shouted from inside

"I really wanna go to bed, can I brush my teeth real quick?"

"Uh…okay yeah"

She pushed the door open to the hot, tiny room. In the mirror she could make out his tan silhouette behind a pane of frosted glass. Brushing her teeth she locked her eyes on it, laughing a little to herself. This was the craziest idea she'd ever had. It wasn't exactly peeping, he was well covered, but her imagination could do the rest. She watched him reach his hands to his hair and tipping his head back. Her eyes traced the outline of his thighs, his torso, and his bum. Then the water stopped, and she froze.

"Bex can you hand me a towel?"

"Uh…Sure yeah," she pulled a crisp white towel from where Finn had neatly laid them out. He opened the shower door and stuck his hand out for it.

"Thanks," he emerged with it wrapped carefully around his waist, hitting just above his knees. His hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions. Her eyes were on the curves of his muscles, and the water that was dripping down them. There was no escaping it, he was onto her, and raised his eyebrows with a cool look across his face.

"That was fast," she said suspiciously.

"No idea what you're talkin' about," but he broke out into a dorky smile as he leaned over the sink and started to trim his beard. She ran her eyes over him once, his back was arched and it stuck out his butt, but then pulled them away. Wrapping her hair up in a topknot, she felt that smile return.

"Goodnight," she began to leave, and he laughed as he said goodnight. She knew when she'd been beat.


	5. The Demon II

Chapter 5: The Demon II

"You ready?" She asked softly, "the car's here." When she looked back at Finn, he was staring off at some point in the distance. He inhaled deeply when she spoke but shook it off and stood up from the sofa.

"Let's go."

The ride to the airport was silent. He starred out the window as the sun rose, large headphones engulfing his head, and she watched him. She couldn't tell if he was nervous or calmer than he'd ever been. It was like this the whole way, at the airport, on the five-hour flight to New York, all the way through the city to the Barclays Center.

As they were walking up from parking the car, he suddenly spoke for the first time in hours. "Hey. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For just lettin' me…be." He sighed, he was exhausted, and she could see it on his face. "Honestly Bex, I've never been this stressed in my life."

"Whatever ya need Finn." She smiled softly at her best friend, knowing what it feels like to be on the cusp of your dreams.

"Hey Becky…you haven't been, uh, bothered by The Demon at all?" He asked as they entered the arena.

"The Demon?"

"My demon."

"Yeah no, I know which demon we're talkin' about," she kept her eyes on him as they made their way through the tables and chairs. "Why would he be bothering me?"

"I just…am under a lot o' pressure and I've been uh… losin' time," he was talking quickly again, "mostly at the gym, but…"

"I haven't seen him at all Finn," she looked at him straight. "Really."

He looked for a moment like he wanted to say something else, but they were ushered in different directions by talent relations. Becky settled into her seat for the Four Horsewomen meet-and-greet.

"Hey lovely," Sasha beamed at her "how's playing house?"

"Aiight that's enough of that."

"Sorry, just teasing. Seriously how has it been?"

"Good. Good good good." She twirled her hair and separated some curls.

"That bad?"

"Stop! It's great, really, I just…sometimes we have these moments…"

"I know those."

"And it's a little…confusin'."

"Is he playing with you?" Sasha leaned in so the others around them couldn't hear.

"I don't think so. That's not Finn, he just... I mean he's always stayed away from women. He's always said he doesn't want distractions. But I've seen him around those women and I don't think that means he doesn't indulge the thought sometimes."

"About you?"

"Well not in particular," she took a sip of her water.

"Yes in particular, that's what we're talking about."

"It doesn't matter. Just forget it."

"Okay." Sasha was good about that, she'd drop a subject if you asked her to.

Friday and Saturday were filled with fan and press events morning to night. They went by so quickly that by the time she saw Finn at catering on Sunday morning, she realized it was the first time since he'd asked about The Demon.

"Hey stranger," she approached him as he was pouring coffee.

"Hi, that's yours." He handed her a paper cup. "Two creams, one brown sugar. Right?"

"That's right. Thanks…you seem better."

"No, I'm a mess," he blew on his coffee as they moved away from the table. "But, tonight, The Demon is gon' to go to work for me. So I take some comfort in that."

"Great," She smiled "I'm looking forward to it. Really, this is the match o' the night."

"I told ya I'd make ya proud." He met her gaze, smiled, and said nothing more.

He was in make up for hours before the show, artists working on the demon paint that had come to define his best matches. Becky had seen the sketches lying around their apartment the week before, and they sent chills up her spine. When she passed the room where he was set up, she glanced in at his artist friend painting the Eye of Balor across his back. It was silly, she knew it, but she felt like it was watching her.

8:00 came and SummerSlam kicked off. The rest of the girls huddled in front of a monitor to watch the first matches, but Becky hung back. She watched as Finn entered the room smiling in full body paint. It took him 15 minutes to get through everyone who wanted to wish him luck or ask about his match, but eventually found his way over to her.

"Hey there. What match are ya?" He sat down in the chair next to her, careful not to smudge the paint.

"Fourth. You look…nice."

"I know, I know, you've always hated the paint."

"It's creepy."

He laughed and looked down at the eyes drawn on the back of his hands, "sort of the point yeah?"

"Can I ask," she said quietly, leaning in close, "right now, you're…"

"Right now I'm just Finn. The Demon doesn't come from face paint, it's always inside of me, you know that."

"I do."

"But, it helps me get into the mindset, channel The Demon when I need him. Plus it freaks out my opponent."

She nodded, and again they sat in silence. She had more questions, but knew that this is what Finn needed. He was one match from achieving his greatest dream. People came and went, and Finn sat there in his quiet mediation. Becky went to get her make up touched up and stretch, Finn was still sitting there when she passed by. She took one look back at him as she stood at the curtain, and he smiled at her.

Becky's music was playing at the end of the match, Natalya was stumbling out, defeated, and Alexa Bliss was holding her head in her hands after taping out to the Dis-Arm-Her. Becky flipped her hair out of her face and the ref raised her arm in victory. She passed through the curtain again to find Finn waiting for her, beaming. It was unbelievable how excited she was to see him.

"I don't want to smear your face paint!" He nodded and squeezed her hand, but faded back when Sasha and Bayley rushed up to hug her. Alexa came by to shake her hand, Triple H to congratulate her, Carmella, Corey Graves, and Sami Zyan. By the time it had all stopped, Finn was gone.

An hour later main event, his match, was next. Becky had claimed a front row seat early, Sasha looked at her with that smile again, the one that couldn't decide if she should be happy or nervous for her. She recognized The Demon the second the theatrical lights went off. That's what she had seen with the dumb Ikea couch, and those days in the gym when nothing was going Finn's way, and that bar in Dublin all those years ago…

She watched his every move, every impulsive decision he made, and every wild-eye look that came across his face. The Finn she had trained with, grown up with, he was so calculating, so in-control of every impulse and instinct his brain came up with. But The Demon, The Demon surrendered to those moments of uncertainty. He leaped into danger headfirst. It was The Demon for sure, who took a Coup De Grace from the top rope onto Seth Rollins, winning the WWE Universal Championship.

"YES!" Becky jumped up, the backstage was cheering.

She ran to the curtain, determined to be the first face he'd see when he walked through it. He emerged with the championship belt draped over his shoulder, his face paint almost completely worn from his face. He shook hands down the line and when he got to her, hugged her with both arms and lifted her off her feet.

It felt like years before he was done making the rounds, but he eventually made his way out to the production truck and motioned for her to follow. Finn's favorite spot, sitting on one of the crates, he looked out aimlessly towards the sky.

She shimmed next to him on the crate, and so quietly said, "wow."

That just made him chuckle and look down at the belt across his lap. "No really, Finn, you did it. I told you, I knew you would do it."

He didn't say anything, so she just kept talking. "I've known what you're capable of from the moment I met you. This wasn't luck Finn, you've worked so hard every single day for so long, you've fought, and you've sacrificed. Bloody 'ell, you didn't drink for two weeks! So if ya think for a second that you don't deserve this I can tell you that you 'ave never been more wrong about anythin' in your entire life."

She put a hand on his knee, "this was your destiny."

His eyes moved to her hand on his knee, and she moved it quickly, blushing. "Sorry…I didn't… Sorry."

But he shook his head, still not saying anything. She saw a smile come across his face, and he tilted his head to one side as if in an unsure thought. In one fell swoop he had his hands around her waist, and his lips were pressed to hers.

It was overwhelming, the warmth that rose up inside of her. The kiss was long and hungry. She kissed back that way, her hands finding his inner thigh and the back of his neck. 15 years of longing and pent up passion, she found it all pouring out as she grabbed on to him tightly. For a moment, it was perfect. When they broke the hold, she blushed harder, not knowing how to react.

"Oh…" was the only thing that managed it's way out of her mouth.

"You're incredible," he said, his voice thick and horse. It made her look up, square into his eyes. "He doesn't tell ya that enough." He raise both eye brows.

"Oh shit…you…"

"Finn doesn't have the courage to do that. But one o' us might as well."

With that, The Demon grinned.


	6. A Secret

Chapter 6: A Secret

"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked, his voice was so thick that it was all she could focus on.

"Out of here?" Her eyes widened, "you're…you're…"

"I'm somethin' inside of Finn that he can't reach on his own. I'm no demon, I am Finn."

"You are not Finn!"

"Did that kiss feel like Finn?" He raise an eyebrow, taunting her.

She was at a loss for words. Running her fingers through her hair she said, "I can't…"

"Course you can love. If you're waitin' for him to kiss ya like that, you'll be waitin' a long time. He won't let himself 'ave you. He'll let you hurt and cry over 'im and suffer before he'll let himself succumb to that temptation."

There were tears in her eyes now, and she looked away.

"I won't tell." He said softly.

"What?" She glared at him.

"If that's what you're afraid of, Finn, the other part of Finn, finding out. I won't tell him."

She looked at him hard for a while, a thousand thoughts running through her brain. "Okay."

In Finn's hotel room, she found herself pushing against his lips again. His kisses were rough and demanding. This other part of him, whatever it was, wanted her, and wasn't afraid to make sure she knew it. So she let herself believe that she was what Finn wanted too. Maybe on his worst days when all the success in the world just wasn't quite enough, he wanted her. Tonight, that's where the Demon came in.

Laying on top of him, it felt right letting his lips fight with hers, letting his hands run up and down her body. That heat she had often felt when he stood too close or whispered in her ear, it finally was satisfying, filling her up every movement of his hips and hands. His hands lingered across her bum, and she giggled, breaking their kiss for a moment. He grinned back at her, that wild look in his eye, and took the opportunity to flip her onto her back. She closed her eyes and let herself melt away as he began to undo the buttons of her jeans.

For a moment his hands flirted with the hem of her scalloped tank top, he waited for her to meet his gaze. When she did, he smirked and in that thick, horse voice said,

"if this is what you want."

"He's what I want."

The Demon raised an eyebrow, but took it as a yes, and pulled the silky shirt over her head. This was as close and she was going to get, and they both knew it. She pulled him into another deep kiss, and let her hands find their way under his t-shirt. Best shape of his life all right. He moved down to the nape of her neck, sending electricity up and down her body as his lips teased her.

"Finn…" She murmured only half-aware, The Demon didn't mind.

They'd only been done a minute, wrapped up in the sheets and breaking out in cool sweats. Becky ran her fingers through her messy hair, gasping a deep breath, and feeling her face flushed and a massive smile form ear to ear. She looked over at him, the last bits of his paint that hadn't been sweated off stuck to corners of his body and face.

He turned to look at her too, "You should go."

"Sorry?"

"I can't keep 'im out much longer. If he wakes up here, next to you, naked, what do ya think he's gonna do?"

He was right. She didn't need to tell him, he knew it. She searched the bed and the floor for her jeans, her tank top, and her underwear. Getting dressed, she was sure his eyes were on her, but he didn't say a word. As she reached down to buckle her wedges, her hair fell to one side, and she felt him come up to lightly kiss the other side of her neck. She froze for a second, squeezing her eyes closed and shuddering at how good it felt.

"He doesn't know what he's missin'" The Demon whispered in her ear before rolling back into his bed and watching her leave the hotel room.

In the morning Sasha was waiting in the hotel lounge, with two coffees and bagels. She was swiping at her phone, and super focused on the screen. Becky approached her, dragging her rolling luggage behind.

"There a Jigglypuff in here?"

"Pikachu actually," She looked up from her phone with a furrowed brow, "hey what happened to you last night? I thought you'd wanna celebrate Finn's new title."

"Well…" She looked around nervously. The last thing she wanted was to hide this from Sasha, but it couldn't get around. "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Tell them what? Bex."

"Swear on Team Bae!"

"On Team Bea. Just tell me." She took a long sip of her coffee, "you're making me nervous."

"Ya know that Demon thing Finn does?"

"Yeah I'm not that blind," Sasha fidgeted with her thick-rimmed glasses.

"It's not just a gimmick, it's really happenin'."

"Like, he's possessed by the devil?"

"No…like, see Finn's so disciplined, he's so in control at all times , that I think the only way he can do some of those things, like what it takes to win a match like that, he has to tap into the part o' him that's undisciplined, and out o' control."

"Yeah okay, I remember that from NXT, he said he wasn't afraid to let his inner demon out." She wiggled her fingers when she said the words 'inner demon'

"Right."

"Sorry, I'm lost. What does this have to do with last night?"

"He called it last night, that's what the paint does, helps him find that part of himself. It lets The Demon take over," she sipped her coffee and took a deep breath. "And it didn't leave right after the match."

"You talked to it? Wait, does it speak?"

"Yeah and," She looked at her best friend's puzzled face. Was she was really going to say this out loud? "He kissed me."

"The Demon?"

"Yeah, The Demon."

"Holy shit."

"And well," she brought her coffee to her lips.

"There's more?" Sasha looked stunned.

"He took me to bed." She sipped the coffee, not wanting to make eye contact. Sasha waited until she did.

"Beg pardon?"

"I know."

"That's **in** sane."

"I know."

"Does Finn, like real Finn, know that happened?"

"I don't think so…but…" She started to pick at her bagel, "he explained that The Demon isn't immoral, he said he would never hurt me, and he was so sure o' it. I think that might mean he wouldn't do anythin' that Finn doesn't actually want to do, deep down."

"I think that's what you want to believe," said Sasha quietly, Becky shrugged. "Hey look alive."

She nodded over to the counter across the room where Finn was ordering. He made his way over to the two of them with a large green tea in his hand.

"Morning ladies."

"Hey Finn," Sasha smiled, "congrats last night! I wish I got to celebrate with you. Where'd you go?"

Becky shot her a side eye, but Finn didn't notice, he sat down next to Becky and ran his fingers through his wet hair.

"Ha that's, yeah. Actually Bex was I with you last night?"

"With me? No, nope, I was with Sasha, we didn't see you."

"Yeah," Sasha nodded, redeeming herself, "Becky was with me, we went to Willamsburg."

"Right," he chuckled, " o' course you did."

"You don't remember last night?" Becky asked, nervously, "Anythin' at all?"

"Musta gotten blackout drunk, wherever I was."

"I'll ask around for you," Sasha offered, "but I gotta get running, press conference. Have a good drive Bex." They hugged and Sasha stood up from her chair, "I'll see you tonight Finn."

"See ya," he said looking down at his tea. When she was gone he groaned, "uuuuugh."

"What's up? We both know ya weren't black out drunk, you musta just stayed Demon for longer."

"Yeah I know I just…"

"You said it's been happenin' a lot." She tried to reassure him.

"It has, but, I don't usually wake up naked in my hotel room, with the sheets all mussed up and the bed smellin' like perfume."

"That…that's what happened?" Her pulse quickened. Did he know her perfume? They lived together how could he not? Unless he thought all perfume smelled the same, which was possible. Or he could be testing her, hoping she'd fess up. _Maybe you should_ …

"Yeah." He sighed, "I just really hope it wasn't a hooker this time."

"What? You're kidding."

"Wish I was. Look," he leaned in with a concerned glimmer in his eyes "The Demon, it's lustful… it doesn't think about consequences it just…takes what it wants."

"What he wants or what you want?"

"Are you accusin' me of wanting to sleep with prostitutes?"

"Well how 'bout it?"

"Becky that's crazy. I am not The Demon, The Demon is not me, it wants what it wants and I 'ave no control over it."

She felt her stomach drop. How could she tell him now? _I won't tell_ she remembered The Demon saying slyly last night. It could be their secret…


	7. Warmth

Chapter 7: Warmth

Becky stumbled through the curtain, Nia Jax's music blaring behind her. She rolled her shoulder and it stung with pain.

"Becky, can I get a word?" Renee Young ran up behind her, "Nia Jax just beat you for the second time since SummerSlam, what's going through your mind?"

She stopped and looked at the commentator, "gee, thank you for remindin' me Renee."

"Well what do you say to the people who have commented that you've been in a bit of a rut since that big win against Natalya and Alexa Bliss?"

"I don't care Renee! I don't care what Graves says or what Twitta says or what **you** say. I care about winnin', so I need to find a way to do that again."

Renee shouted thank you as Becky stormed off. She ignored Carmella trying to tell her good match, and even Triple H trying to grab her attention about some marketing.

"Not now, Hunter," she said, rushing for the locker room door, desperate to get away from the chatter and the sound of Nia's music coming from the monitors.

The locker room was empty save for a few bags and makeup carts. She sat down on a bench and held her head in her hands. Becky hadn't won a match since SummerSlam, on TV or in a house show, and it was taking its toll.

A knock came on the locker room door, Hunter again.

"Becky can I come in?"

"Yeah aiight."

Hunter always looked strange in a suit, somewhat out of place. His face was concerned and he locked the door behind him.

"Are you alright?" He sat down on the bench across from her, "you seem distracted."

"Yeah well, that happens when you lose all the time, don't it?"

Hunter frowned, he was silent for a moment and then asked, "How are things at home with Finn?"

"Why?" she shot back, starting to unravel the braids in her hair. _What has he heard?_

"Well sometimes," he tilted his head, "watching someone achieve their dreams is hard if we aren't achieving ours."

She shook her head, "it's not an issue."

"Shawn and I have had some rough patches when one of us had a title and the other didn't. It didn't mean I wasn't proud of him."

"Hunter," She combed out the frizzy strands of the braid, "I said it's not an issue."

"Okay." Disappointment was all over his face, but he got up anyway. "You just let me know if you want to talk about anything."

It felt good to get out of her sticky ring gear and put normal clothes. There was no way she was dressing up and hitting the bars. She was wrapping her hair up and out of her face when her phone started to buzz. On old picture lit up the screen, one from back in Dublin. They were both so young, and Finn's statue was tiny compared now. She hit decline.

Alexa and Carmella walked in, talking about the main event that was in progress.

"Hey," Carmella said, looking her over, "not in the mood to go out?"

"Nah I'm exhausted, and my flight's early tomorrow. I'm just goin' back to the room and orderin' room service."

"That's literally my favorite," Alexa chimed in, checking her hair in the big mirror. "I get an angry text from Buddy every time the bill shows up on our credit card."

Carmella laughed and Becky forced a smile. The phone lit up again with a voicemail from Finn. She sighed and held it up to her ear to play the message. She could tell Finn was walking quickly as he recorded it, and she struggled to hear him from the background noise.

"Hey Bex…it's Finn, obviously heh, uh I'm at the airport. Got called to go record a podcast down in LA, so I'm gon' go down for tomorrow mornin'. I don't think I'm gon' stay the extra night ,though, so I'll be back tomorrow night… I guess see you then…Ah yeah I caught the end of your match on the car ride, don' get discouraged, you were lookin' good. You'll get 'er… Anyway I just didn't want you to come home to an empty house. Aiight…bye." The phone beeped and her heart dropped slightly. Finn was really what she needed right now.

It was strange walking through the apartment door to an eerie silence, but after a while she began to enjoy the day alone. In the early evening she made her way down to the fitness center and had a long, zoned-out work out. She was convinced that she just needed to train harder, and if she kept running, if she did another set, that would make the difference. There must've been a small part of her that knew it was a mental block, but she kept pushing anyway

By the time she slumped her way upstairs, her head was pounding and every muscle was sore. The adrenaline had worn off and she was just left with the pain shooting through her body. Collapsing on her bed with an icepack on her forehead, she turned off the light before her migraine worsened.

A storm had broken out, rain was pouring outside her window, and lightning was flashing by the time she heard the front door open.

"Hey!" He shouted into the apartment. She groaned in response.

His footsteps creaked on the old flooring, her eyes were closed but she could feel him hovering at her doorframe.

She pulled the icepack off, squinting, "hey Finn."

"Migraine?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll leave ya…"

"No that's aiight," he hesitated for a moment, "really."

He closed her door behind him and carefully made his way through the dark room to her bed. Sliding in next to her on his stomach, he moved a strand of hair away from her face.

"What's up with you?" He asked quietly.

"Jus'... in a rut that's all…" she shook her head.

"You've been actin' real strange since SummerSlam."

"I know. I'm just…off."

Lightning flashed outside the window, in the light she could see the worried look on his face.

"Are we aiight?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Her heartbeat was getting faster.

"I don'…I dunno, you just seem distant. You'd tell me if you were upset about somethin', wouldn't ya?"

"There's nothin' Finn…everythin's fine."

"Okay," he leaned down and kissed her forehead, it sent shivers up her spine to feel his lips again. It was hardly the first time that he'd kissed her platonically, on the cheek or brow, but felt different after being with him that night. It made her eyes swell up a bit.

"Sorry," he said genuinely, looking at the tears forming, "I just wanna help…"

Her lip was quivering now, and she could feel him reading her mind, all those insecurities and frustrations. He tilted his head and smiled sadly. She started to feel tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Ah Bex…" He brought her in to her arms, running his fingers through her hair. The warmth of his body seeped into her, and she realized how much of a chill she'd be holding on to. Softly he whispered, "It's gon' be okay…you're okay…"

She was sobbing now, and just they lay there until she seemed to run out of tears.

"Sorry," she hiccuped, pulling out of his embrace and pushing back her hair.

"Don't be," he said even softer than before. "Do you wan' me to leave ya alone?"

She didn't speak for a moment, then sighed, "Actually I… will you stay? It's silly, really, but…"

" Gimme some room." She scooted towards the wall, and he pulled off his sweatshirt, dropping it to the floor. Slipping under her comforter he whispered, "Goodnight, Becky."


	8. The Last Time

**A/n:** So I have no idea what happened with this chapter before. I'm assuming I hit something that made it go into weird HTML, so let's try again.

Chapter 8: The Last Time

She curled up next to him, letting his arm drape around her shoulder.

He chuckled, "we used to do this at those trainin' camps. Huddled together from the gym being so damn cold."

"In those ratty old sleepin' bags," she laughed and wiped her eyes. "You'd always end up next to me, no matta where I went."

"I wasn't 'bout to let any o' those…dirt bags… get anywhere near ya."

"So protective," she grinned.

" **Especially** after I found out,"

"Oh here we go."

"After I found out you were bloody 16,"

"You will never let that go will ya."

"I hate bein' lied to. And you were my responsibility."

"And you felt skivvy." _Oh don't go there._

He laughed and even in the darkened room she could see him blushing.

"No I did not…"

"Oh you did. I saw how ya reacted when I said I wasn't 18."

"Aiight," he raised his eyebrows, " I was embarrassed by the way I'd been actin' around you. Happy?"

"Very." She grinned and flipped onto her other side, "goodnight Finn."

Becky woke to the sun rising outside her window, turning the sky purple and pink. She turned and placed a hand on Finn's chest, he wouldn't mind. Sighing she took in the moment, his hand entwined in her hair, her fingertips running along the collar of his t-shirt.

"Hey," he whispered as he stirred. She moved her hand off and glanced up at him, "would you like another secret?" At first she thought his voice was horse from waking up, but now she was sure this was The Demon again.

"What do ya want?" Her voice was stern.

"Aww Becky, don't be mad. Don' you wan' to know?" She flipped over with her back towards him. The Demon leaned into her ear.

"He's dreamin' 'bout you."

She glared at him, "That's not going to work."

"Finn would never lie to ya love, neither will I." That was true, at least, she thought it was. "I'm just tryin' to help here."

"You're tryin' to get laid, that's all."

He smirked, "He could use it, I'll admit. Maybe ya could too."

Turning around towards him, she looked square into those sparkling, wild eyes.

"I'll play. What's he dreamin'?"

"Knew you'd be curious. All night long He's been dreamin' 'bout reaching over," he started running his hand up her thigh. "Pulling you in, making you his…"

She shiver a bit at his touch but kept her eyes locked on his.

"Jus' a dream and he's still pleasurin' you," his eyes twinkled. "What a gentleman."

Her face rushed with blood, she tried to keep her face straight, but it was fruitless.

"Is that what you've been dreamin' about too?" he asked. He raised an eyebrow as she blushed and bit her bottom lip. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

He leaned in close, she gasped slightly as their noses touched and his lips hovered above hers.

"I'd go into more detail but…" he said it slowly, teasing her lips with every word. "I'd much rather show ya."

 _Well fuck it._ She pressed hard onto his lips, and wrapped her arms around his neck. A moan slipped from his mouth to hers, as his hands started wandering over her body.

When they broke away he said, "we'll have to work fast, Finn's in a dream but it won't last long."

"Get to it then," she said, making him smirk and pull her shorts down off her hips. He ran his fingers up the inside of her thigh, and smiled that toothy grin as a gasp escaped her mouth.

He had been fast, wasting no time. His hands were rough, but his touch was always softer than she'd expect it to be. She'd barely come back down to earth by the time he slipped out to clean up.

As he returned to bed, she chuckled and asked, "How is it The Demon is still a neat freak?"

"Really?" the corner of his mouth turned up to a smile, "after all that I just gave ya, that's whatcha have to say?

"It was alright." She shrugged with her own smirk.

"Bullshit. I heard ya." He leaned back against her pillow, "ya know he hates it when you lie to him. An' you're not very good at it."

"Well I don' like doin' it." She looked at him seriously, "we can't keep…"

"Why not? It's what you want isn't it?" She was at a loss for words.

"It is but…"

"Besides," he winked, "now ya owe me one."

She didn't get back to sleep in the couple of hours before Finn woke. She lay there, looking up and the ceiling fan and thinking about what she'd just done…Again.

"Mornin'," he said through a yawn as he looked over at her.

"Mornin' Finn." He smiled sweetly, most certainly not The Demon this time.

"Feelin' better? Just needed a sleepover, yeah?"

She chuckled, "yeah I'm, I'm feeling better…" _Don't push the subject…_ But it was too late, she was there. "Are you aiight? You seemed…restless last night. Tossin' and turnin' a bunch."

"Oh…" His face turned lightly pink "yeah no I just…" He caught her eye, sheepishly, "just had a really vivid dream."

Now the blood was rising in her face _._ "Bad dream?" she asked nervously.

"No, no," he smiled to himself, "it was a fine dream. Uh…did I disturb you? Haven't shared a bed in a lon' time."

She shook her head and smiled at him, and he followed her lead. But there was something in his eyes that was uncertain, almost suspicious. _This has to be the last time._


	9. A Proposition II

**A/n:** I'm not sure if Fanfic sends an email when a chapter gets updated or not, so for anyone who hasn't read the non-wonked up version of Chapter 8, it's up and fixed. Technology, man.

Chapter 9: A Proposition II

It wasn't the last time. And maybe that was because she didn't want it to be. They went about their week: flying out on Friday, texting through the weekend, watching each other's segments on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday afternoon she pulled her suitcase through the door to him foam rolling on the living room floor. She barely looked at him, storming into the next room.

"Oof hey there." He smiled through a wince, and followed her into the kitchen. "Your match looked good."

She turned around and shot him a glare. "I lost."

"Don' get caught up…" She turned her back to him to wash her coffee mug out in the sink. "You'll get through it."

Becky didn't say anything, scrubbing the inside of the mug vigorously.

He was behind her suddenly, his hands around her waist, finding their way under the hem of her yoga pants.

"Ya just need to relax."

She froze, "that didn't take much."

"I can tell when ya need me," he brushed his lips to the back of her ear. It sent a shiver down her spine.

Placing the mug down, she pursed her lips and sighed.

"Tell me to back off," he said softly into her ear. "Go on. You'll never see me again."

"I don't…" she turned to face him, he wasn't smirking, his eyes weren't teasing her, and for a moment he truly looked like Finn. "I don't want that."

That made him smile slyly. "Then why don't you let me give ya what'cha want. Whenever ya want it." His lips were grazing her cheek. "Sounds pretty good yeah?"

"Finn will…"

"Finn won't find out. Unless you crack and tell 'im, but that's on you." His eyes locked on her lips and he bit his own. "And unlike Finn, I actually care to do somethin' 'bout it when I see that longin' come across ya face."

"So, what, you'll just take over his body and whisk me away?"

"Somethin' like that," he raised his eyebrows and slid his hands up underneath her t-shirt just an inch.

She felt a small gasp leave her, but tried to keep her cool. "And what are you getting' outta all of this?"

"Ya might not believe me Becky, but I care 'bout Finn. Two sides of the same coin an' all that. He needs this just as much as you do."

"So why am I talkin' to his Demon instead?"

"Cause his discipline is stronger than his desire. Always has been." He was getting impatient now, running his lips over hers, "but maybe if his subconscious has a bit o' fun, we can wear that down."

She looked at him for a moment. "Okay…"

"Do we have an arrangement?"

Becky responded by reaching up and kissing him hard on the lips. He let out a soft chuckle and pulled her to the couch, positioning her body on top of his. The hem of his t-shirt was bunched up above his belly button, and she grabbed at it before breaking from his lips and lifting it over his head. Her eyes scanned his torso, the muscles he worked so hard to maintain, and he snickered, enjoying the look on her face. He took the opportunity to return the favor, sliding the tank top over her head and onto the floor. The lace bralette underneath wasn't much in the way of coverage, and she felt his eyes unmoving from it as he bit down on his lip. He ran a finger tip along the edge of the lace and his face started to form to that look that Finn got when the gears where turning.

"Now…" he meet her eyes, "there's a small matter o' you owing me one, darlin'."

She felt the heat rising on her skin and a smile sneaking on to her face.

An old crime drama was playing on the movie channel. Becky's legs were stretched out on the couch, landing a few inches short of where Finn sat. She was braiding her hair to one side, watching Finn as he stared straight at the television. He had been blinking rapidly for the last minute or two.

He looked over at her, his brow furrowed, "wha…"

"Hey." Y _ou better give him something here._ "Where'd you go there?"

"I don'…I dunno. Normally The Demon has a reason to take ova' but... I don't know why..."

She took a deep breath, "maybe ya just needed a break…y'know, from your brain."

He leaned back, tilting his head. "Did I ask you 'bout your match?"

"Yes. It was fine."

"Aiight."

She felt a twinge of guilt over not actually explaining why he'd randomly lost time and become The Demon, but he'd get use to it soon. _That's pathetic huh?_ But that's the way this would have to be if she wanted to keep him.

"Hey. Do you remember that show in Dublin when I had just started competing by myself?"

"Yeah, I mean, sort of," he looked over at her with that puzzled look.

"I had just turned 18," the corner of her mouth turned up as she remembered that night, "for real this time."

"Ha, yeah I recall." That got him to smile, "so I took you out to celebrate since I'd missed it."

"You told me you'd buy me whatever I wanted if I promised to never lie to you again."

"Ooh, ya ran me such a tab that night," he tipped his head back laughing. Then twinkle formed in his eye and he smiled to himself.

"What?"

"Nothin' I'm just…rememberin' the skirt you wore that night."

She thought for a minute, "the **camo** one? Oh god."

"It was quite 2005," he was beaming and nodded, "it looked good. I mean, not that I was lookin'. That would've been inappropriate."

"Right." She rolled her eyes, Finn always protested anytime someone suggested there was something between them. He cited her age, his rank in the gym, but never said a word about not wanting her.

"Do you remember anythin' else about that night?"

"No, because I went shot for shot with ya, and it was a mistake."

"I think I saw The Demon for the first time that night."

He looked up quickly, "you're kidding."

"There were these guys hangin' around outside when we left, piss drunk I'm sure. We kind o' stumbled out, and they started hollerin' at me…"

His face twisted with anger, "I don't like where this is going."

"No, I mean, they were talkin' real gross, and you started to act strange. The way you moved and talked, it was odd. And then you walked right up to one of 'em, and just…decked 'im. Right in the face. Knocked 'im right out."

"I did?" The smile returned to his face, "Suppose even The Demon knows he's supposta protect you."

"I'm just sayin', maybe you should stop worryin' about him, maybe he knows what he's doin'."


	10. On the Mat

Chapter 10: On the Mat

"You warmed up?" Finn wandered to her in the gym, rubbing a towel on the back of his neck. She released the deep stretch and glanced up at him. He always liked to start his training with intense cardio like he used to, so sweat was had begun to break out across his forehead.

"Yeah let's go. Enjoy your run?"

"Ah it was beautiful." They laughed and held the ropes open for her before then climbing into the ring himself. The wrestling gym was a short drive from Portland. Finn had been calling places for weeks, trying to find somewhere to work on his moveset. He always had to keep working.

"Aiight, what do ya wanna do today?" he asked, pulling off his t-shirt and throwing it off to the side to train.

She bit her lip. It had been almost a moth since she'd agreed to the arrangement with The Demon. Once a week or so, The Demon would break through and pull her to a bedroom. Sometimes it was because Finn was dancing around a flirtatious comment, other times because his eyes had been wandering, or just because she'd said something sweet to him. They'd work fast and he'd leave her breathless, kissing her cheek as he rushed to pull on his underwear and find something to preoccupy Finn when he woke.

For what it was, it was a lot of fun. But today she'd only been home since the morning, after not having seen him for a week. The idea of being close to him again, without that context, made her heart beat faster.

"What do ya think, coach?"

He smiled slightly, he loved it when she called him that. "Supplexes. When you're up against girls like Nia, ya need more power. If you can get her off her feet you're set."

"Come on," she nodded, circling him. The animalistic look returned to his face, the way it always did when he wrestled. "Go," she said suddenly, locking arms with him to his surprise.

"Oof," he grabbed her arm, turning her back towards him, "trying to usurp your ring general?"

"Well how 'bout it?" the hair was standing up on her neck as she fought to stay focused on the chain wrestling. He warned her of the bump before knocking her onto her back.

"Ahh." She looked up to him reaching a hand down to her.

"You aiight?"

"Ya know what Hunter says," she let him pull her back up to her feet. "You don' hit anyone as hard as ya hit your best friend."

He smiled and they worked for a few more minutes. Every touch was taunting, but most of all when he had his arms around her. Their eyes met every few moments, and she was afraid he could just feel what she was thinking.

"Right, I'll be Nia." He stepped into position with his back facing her.

"Nia with a beard?"

He ignored her. She took a deep breath and moved closer to him, his backside brushing up against her. Wrapping her arms around her waist she bent her knees and threw him over her head, falling to the mat herself.

His landing was rough, but he shook it off quickly.

"That was good," he sat up, rolling his neck. "But not powerful enough to get Nia all the way over here."

"Well that's all I got, Balor."

"No, it's not," he offered her a hand and they pulled each other up. "It's all from your core and your legs. Here,"

He positioned himself behind her, and she could feel his breath on her neck. His hands wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Don't forget about your grip, it's your foundation." He squeezed tighter, and she let out a sharp gasp.

"Then ya really got to activate your core. I know ya can throw most girls over your head without even thinkin' about it, but with Nia, you have to stay focused. Gimme your hand," she did reluctantly, as he pressed it against his tightly held abs. "See how engaged I am?"

"Uh huh…" she murmured, pulling her hand away quickly.

"Aiight, then you'll need to fully commit. Ready?"

She nodded. He tossed her over his head and she landed hard on the mat.

"Ahh." Her eyes refocused on him standing over that. Pushing herself up she said, "just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Got it," she let him pull her back onto her feet and wrapped her arms around him again.

"Tighter," he said. "You can't give her any room or leverage."

So she held tighter, her eyes finding themselves on the tiny birthmark on his ear. She took another deep breath, and bending her knees she flung him over her head again. The impact was harder than usual.

He groaned but then said, "Ah, excellent." He pushed himself on to his feet and met her in the middle of the mat. "You were perfect."

"I need to be better than perfect."

He rolled his eyes, "don't gimme that. Can we work on something?"

She stood with her back to him again as he fidgeted around with a new hold. He twisted her arms back and forth, murmuring to himself in her ear while she tried to control her breathing.

"Thanks for bein' a good sport," she could hear the smile in his voice as held her closer.

"Anything, mate."

"Can you try to fight outta this for me?"

She struggled against the force of his arms, his grip was always so tight. Eventually, she found some leverage from moving her shoulder forward, and started to push her way out. He was quick to take his right hand and wrapped it around the front of her chest, connecting with her arm and squeezing her back into position. Her heart rate was getting faster as she felt him push in as close as possible. Finn was so laser focused on his hold, he didn't notice when his lips brushed up against her ear.

"Ahh excellent," he said, his breath hot on her skin. "You are fantastic." It was partially his fault, the slow way he'd murmured in her ear and rubbed her arm with his thumb. Despite her best efforts, she felt a weak moan escape her lips.

Finn dropped his hands quickly and she realized what had just happened. He backed up and the blood started rising to her face. _It's over._

"Oh my god…"

"We can call this a day," he said hurriedly, rolling out of the ring.

"Finn, I…" she followed him out of the ring.

"Do ya wanna stop for dinner on the way home?"

"I don' know what came over me."

"I could go for that Tex-Mex place we passed on the highway."

"I am **so** sorry."

He stopped and looked at her, equally flustered. "Don't be. Never happened."

The running water of the shower was the first sound in what felt like hours. They'd ridden in silence all the way back, and ate their burritos without banter. Finn's face never quite reached a shade bellow pink, and he had suddenly announced he was going to take a shower the moment he'd finished dinner.

Becky had pealed the sweaty athletic pants and sports bra off in exchange for patterned boxer shorts and a slouchy pullover sweatshirt. Collapsing on her bed, she tried to stretch out the kinks in her legs, to no avail. Normally she didn't feel this desperate to get back to work, but maybe by the time she returned next week he'd have forgotten the whole thing. She thumbed through the pages of a softcover book, trying to get her mind off of the day, but found herself glancing towards the ajar bathroom door every few minutes.

The water stopped and she buried her face in the book, resisting the temptation to look up as she heard the door open. His footsteps passed his own room on the left and kept on forward. She read the same line over and over again, her mind trying to decipher if he was walking right passed he door or stopping. It was the second. He paused for a moment, and she could feel his eyes on her.

"You lookin' for me love?"

He was leaning against the doorframe, with a towel low on his waist, and smirking. She shook her head and looked back to her book.

"Oh don' be embarrassed," he wandered over to the edge of her bed, "I'd have saved ya' there, but I gotta let Finn work some o' this out on his own."

She pursed her lips together, and he leaned in to kiss them lightly. She closed her eyes, melting into it.

"See, patience." She felt his lips turning up in a sly smile. She pulled away to meet his eyes.

"He onto us?"

"I think ya managed to distract him actually." His eyes started to twinkle again, "Now I had planned to get ya alone and make it worth your wait but… Finn decided to take care of matters himself back there."

"Don't tease me," she shot him an angry look, "I don't 'preciate that."

"Told ya I would never lie, an' I meant it. Ya must've lit a little fire in 'im. Wouldn't be the first time." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Maybe one of these days he'll wise up and wanna know what …this feels like."

He leaned in and kissed her deeply, his tumb rubbing her exposed shoulder. She lifted her hands to his face, pulling him in closer. In those moments, with his lips against hers, it was enough.


	11. Mrs Devitt

Chapter 11: Mrs. Devitt

"Do you think Finn would be better than The Demon, or like, not as much fun?" Sasha took a gulp of her coffee with a massive smile on her face.

"I am **not** havin' this conversation with ya." Becky shook her head and looked straight ahead at the road.

"I'm just saying, you have to wonder how it'd be different to sleep with him instead of The Demon." She looked out the passenger side window at the streets of Indianapolis.

"Yeah I wonder 'bout it quite a bit thanks Sash,"

"Bex I didn't mean," she looked back at her friend in the driver's side.

"We have these great nights togetha, amazin' really, best of my life." She reached down with her right hand for her coffee cup. "And then he immediately takes off so that Finn doesn't find out, an' I can't even say anythin' to him about it later."

"I'm sorry,"

"It's fine, I'm, I'm happy, really."

"Are you?" She could feel Sasha trying to read her face.

"Yeah, I mean, like I said, the sex isn't exactly… lacking." She giggled to herself, "so sure, I'd love to wake up to 'im, I'd love to get taken out to dinners and come home to flowers, and I'd love to kiss 'im whenever I feel like it. That's just not my life right now."

"As long as you're happy."

"I am." They pulled into the parking lot of the arena and unloaded their bags from the car.

"BECKY!" Big E called as they made their way to one of the side rooms where the New Day was set up . He ran over and gave her a bear hug. "No one told us you were coming!"

"Ah RAW and SmackDown can't split up Team Bae! Had to support my girl."

Sasha grinned and then motioned behind Becky's shoulder.

"Why don' we have a cool team name?" Finn was hovering in the doorway, smiling wide. She hugged him, but pulled away quickly.

"BeckIn?" Xavier suggested, "Fire Demons?"

"Irish booty kickers?" asked Kofi Kingston.

"Booty and the Beast?" said Big E.

"Does that make me the Booty?" Finn looked with a cheeky smile.

"Oh no, I'm the Booty," Becky responded, out of the corner of her eye she saw him glance down to the back of her skinny jeans.

"Yeah she's the Booty," Big E agreed.

"I'll concede."

They all laughed and Big E put his arm around Finn, "big match tonight champ, you gonna bring that title home?"

"No doubt 'bout it. Roman's not getting' anywhere near this tonight," he patted the belt on his shoulder.

"Are you nervous about the cell?" asked Sasha, taking a seat in a fold up chair by the monitor.

Finn took a deep breath, "I'm gon' give it my all, that's for sure."

Becky watched his face, it was clear he was nervous. They weren't doing paint tonight, Hunter wanted to keep it special, but he'd need to call on the Demon regardless. He caught her eye and smiled.

"Don't worry."

She'd been sitting at the production table with Hunter for the entire show. He'd agreed to let her be a guest backstage but wouldn't risk her being seen on camera to preserve the continuity of the brands.

"You know, I think you'd be good at this when you retire," he had said during a commercial break right before the main event.

"What's that, bossin' people around?"

"Exactly. Alright Roman, you ready?" He leaned back and addressed the two men waiting by the curtain for their entrances.

"Ready."

"Cue Roman's music," Hunter said into the headset as they cut back to the arena. "Finn?"

"Let's go." He caught her eye as Hunter looked back to the monitor, and winked. She felt her heart drop. The Demon was dangerous enough in a regular match, but Hell in a Cell was known for its brutality.

His music hit and he disappeared through the curtain, She watched his entrance on the monitor, he was moving with that eerie presence.

"He is such a star," Hunter commented as Finn showed off the Universal Championship Title from underneath his leather jacket.

"Always has been."

Their match was as rough as Becky had expected. It gave her plenty of moments to gasp as Roman would throw Finn like a Frisbee, or knock him against the wall of the cell. She spent most of the first 15 minutes with her hand to her mouth.

"He's a pro," Hunter said, looking over at her. "Finn will be okay."

"And Roman?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well he'll be okay too, but I don't really think that's who you're worried about."

"What's he doing?" She nodded towards the monitor where The Demon was climbing his way up the corner of the cell.

"Winning, if he's lucky."

He had positioned himself about halfway up the cell. On the floor bellow Roman was grabbing at his legs, trying to pull him back down. Finn's body was already covered in welts from their encounter in the ring, and his eyes were getting desperate. The Demon did not like to be knocked down.

It happened in an instant, he leaped from the walls of the cell into the beginnings of a Coup De Grace. But Roman was standing, and much closer than he'd normally be. The force of Finn's legs to his chest caused both men to collapse awkwardly. Finn stumbled forward, grazing the side of his head on the ring and falling to the ground on one side.

"Oh my god." Becky squeezed her eyes tightly. She heard the announcers asking what had happened and after a moment she heard the bell.

"That's an X, get the medical crew out there now!" Hunter shouted at an assistant near him. "Do you want to come?" he asked her as he stood up.

"Sorry?"

"To the hospital? That's a possible concussion, a bad one too. You can come, but we have to move."

The ride in the ambulance was excruciating. He laid there in a neck brace looking up at the ceiling. After a few moments of his eyes blinking rapidly, his eyes looked over to her and he said,

"Well, did I win?" Hunter laughed, thinking it was Finn trying to joke in a difficult situation. But Becky took his hand in both of hers and squeezed it.

"No contest," she said very softly.

"Damn."

They whisked him off for tests and she sat in the waiting room watching Hunter talking with the front desk every opportunity he got. Defeated, he walked back over and sat down next to her.

"She says he's okay, no serious signs of a major trauma, but they're doing more tests and only family's allowed back there right now. "

"Dammit."

"Guess you could pretend to be his sister if you wanted."

She looked down at her right hand, where a faux gemstone ring from Forever21 sat on her pointer figure.

"I have a better idea," she moved it swiftly off of her right hand and onto the left ring finger. Hunter raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as she approached the front desk. "Ma'am, you were just speaking to my friend about a patient, Fergal Devitt?" She made sure her left hand was resting on the counter top. "He's my fiancée."

One of the nurses escorted her to his room in the ER, the neck brace was gone but the bruises were starting to show. He looked like hell, weary and unmoving. A butterfly bandage sat on the side of his forehead where he'd narrowly missed knocking himself out all together. The nurse told them she'd have the MRI results in a few minutes.

"Now how'd you swindle your way into here huh?" He smiled brightly as she sat down next to him.

"I uh, told them I was your fiancée." She laughed nervously.

"Clever," he looked down at her left hand and reached over to take it in his. "But if I were gon' marry you, I'd have bought you somethin' much nicer than this." She felt a pang in her chest.

"What were you thinking Finn? You could've gotten killed."

"Wasn't exactly myself.

"It was so reckless, surely The Demon knows better."

"I don't think The Demon knows anythin'."

"He does. He's you, and you are smarter than that."

"It's **not** me."

"Yes, he is."

"What makes you so sure of that," his eyes narrowed, "have you two been havin' some lovely chats all those times it's taken over recently?"

"What? No, o' course not."

"You seem real confident you know all about it."

"I pay attention, Finn." Her face was heating up, she didn't want to do this, not here.

"Think it likes ya," he laughed slightly.

"What do ya mean?"

"It just seems to want to push its way out more if ya happen to be around." He was joking, but her heart was pounding in her chest. He smiled at her, "can't say I blame it."

"Devitt?" the nurse returned to the doorway.

"Yes?" they both said, looking over at her. Finn glanced over to Becky but didn't say anything.

"Well the good news is that you don't have a concussion. Actually that's just short of a miracle. It was a glancing blow, so you'll have to keep those bandages on and rest. The wrist is broken, too. We'll patch you up with a cast but you'll need to check in with your work about when you can, well, wrestle again. "

"Thank you ma'am." As she left the room Finn tipped his head back and let out a quiet "Fuck."

She took his left hand again, "that sounds like you got off easy."

"It's two months, Bex, easy." He started twirling the fake engagement ring around her finger and she pretended not to notice.

"Your brain could be scrambled eggs righ' now." She said earnestly.

"They're gon' take the championship."

She squeezed his hand again. "It's gon' be okay. I should go tell Hunter while you get that cast."

"Shit."

"Please don't say that in front of 'im Hunter. He's real freaked out you'll take the title."

"Becky, I have to. You know the policy about injured champions."

"It's only going to be two months!" she pleaded with him.

"At least, and if he has a set back or rehab doesn't go well it could stretch out for a lot longer. I can't make an exception. I'm sorry."

She slouched in her chair, wanting so badly to be able to fix this for him.

"Will you take me off the schedule for a couple weeks?"

He looked over at her, "You really want to put your career on hold to take care of him?"

"Just a couple weeks," she fiddled with the fake engagement ring on her finger. "I think he'll need me."

For a moment he just looked at her, but then sighed. "Alright, Mrs. Devitt. I'll take you off the schedule."


	12. Your New WWE Universal Champion

Chapter 12: Your New WWE Universal Champion

"You really don't have to do this." His face was defeated as he watched her from the other side of the kitchen table.

"What are you supposed to pick them up with?" she nodded towards the sling his arm sat in as she went down the list of his prescriptions for each day. "Besides the pill sorter makes you seem like a little ol' man and that's a riot."

"Glad you're amused."

"And it's not like we've made friends with the neighbors, or your parents can just pop by to make sure you're doin' okay. Someone has to take care of ya."

She returned to meticulously double checking each day's pills, but she could feel his eyes on her.

"Hey Bex…"

"Mhmm?"

"I'm sorry. 'Bout what I said in hospital?"

"'Bout my ring being cheap? Good I was mad 'bout that."

"No I mean, about you and The Demon chattin' it up, I… I dunno. It was dumb."

She stopped for a moment, "that's aiight."

"No I was just…lashin' out for some reason. It's not your fault he's been comin' out so much."

"O' course not…you didn't upset me. Really." She looked up and smiled at him, his face remained unconvinced.

"Okay." A small smile appeared on his face as he looked her over. "He does seem to like ya though."

"What? You're crazy."

"Nah it's true. Can't seem to keep 'im away from ya."

She forced a laugh and he grinned, but she felt the nervousness return. It must've crossed her mind before that he'd be too smart for this to last long. He was joking right? He thought he was being cute? He was off the scent, at least for now. _Isn't he?_

He slumped over to the couch, pulling a tube of ointment out of his backpack.

"You gonna let me 'elp with that?"

"Bex…" he protested, but didn't fight when she took it from his hands an knelt beside the couch. "Why do ya feel the need to take care o' me so much, huh?

She dabbed a bit onto his blackened eye and he winced.

"I shouldn't have let The Demon go out there."

"Now that's ridiculous."

"It's really not. I'm the only one who knows how out o' control you are like that." She dabbed more of the ointment onto her fingers, simply saying "Shirt."

He rolled it up to the top of his chest, and she realized she hadn't actually seen him like this since the bruises had developed. They dotted his body like angry spots across his rib cage, his abs, down to the waistband of his sweatpants.

"God you look terrible," she said, rubbing the last bruise on his lower abdomen.

"I don't think that's fair, I've been workin' out, see," he tucked in his stomach, flexing the muscles underneath her fingertips.

Her hand quivered for a moment but she managed to shoot him an angry look and he relaxed, beaming.

When she made it up to the bruise high on his chest, he whispered softly, "Bex..."

His face was only a few inches from hers. She looked into his eyes and he smiled slightly, "this isn't your fault. Don' ya know by now I never listen to a word ya say?"

She laughed a little and looked down at her hands, spinning the top back on the tube. His fingertips brushed the ends of her hair gently.

"I shoulda tried."

"It's okay." He rolled his shirt down and propped himself up on his left arm. "Go wash your hands, you don' want that stuff gettin' in your food."

She rolled her eyes but made her way to the bathroom regardless. Looking at herself in the mirror she realized how big the bags under her eyes were. Finn had been released late last night and she'd barely slept at all just thinking about him. _Talk about lookin' like hell._

The TV clicked on from the living room and she heard him flip through channels before the RAW theme started playing.

"No way!" she shouted, emerging from the hallway. Finn hid the remote behind his back with his good hand the moment he saw her. "You're not watchin' this."

"Only for a moment…" he protested.

"Ladies and gentlemen we have some unfortunate news fallowing last night's Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Universal Championship," came Michael Cole's voice from the speakers.

"Gimme it," she stepped closer as he dodged her.

"I jus' wanna see who wins it."

"You're a liar," she made a sudden lunge for it, but he stood up and held it high above his head. "Oh really? You're not that tall mate."

He only had about 5 inches on her, but that didn't stop him from mocking her when he got the chance.

"Tall enough," he lengthened his body and beamed as she started jumping for it. She caught his eyes grazing over the neckline of her top but they quickly returned to her face.

"It's two hands again one, give it up." She grumbled, trying to catch him off guard.

"Well I guess I will just havta be a bit more clever then huh?" With that he tossed the remote towards the cushions and caught her with his one arm as she dove for it.

They both crashed into the corner of the couch, Becky found their legs entwined and his arm around her shoulder. He winced from the impact.

"Did that hurt you?"

"I'm aiight," he said, shifting his body to cover the remote.

"Good cause ya brought it on yourself."

He laughed, "worth it," and his eyes scanned her up and down again. He'd been doing that more often recently. She'd catch him looking as she got out of the shower, or as she stretched in the gym. Was The Demon onto something about it seeping into his subconscious? Was he aware, somewhere in the back of his mind, what it felt like to be with her?

He met her eyes again and blushed. "Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Happens," she said quietly.

Part of her wondered what would happen if she'd just leaned in and kissed him in this moment. Her heart sunk a little bit remembering what had happened the last time she thought to make the first move. He pulled away quickly, reminding her he was 23, the owner, and her trainer. That trust was fragile, he told her, and it was important. He apologized up and down for weeks, making her feel mortified her every time he brought it up again, but never told anyone what had happened. Finn was nothing if not a man of honor, even back then. Could she every let herself believe it might be different now?

"Can we please jus' watch the bloody show Bex?" he said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Fine," she shifted her weight onto her side so she wouldn't crush him anymore. The couch was wide enough for both of them, but just barely. "But I don't approve of it."

xxxxxxxxx

The main event was what she'd expected it to be, the finals in a tournament to crown a new WWE Universal Champion. She'd glanced over at him every time they mentioned it for three hours, and throughout the two qualifiers earlier that night. His face was stone, but she knew the look in his eyes.

Kevin Owens and Cesaro made their entrances and the screen ran a video package of Finn's ill-conceived move from the night before. Byron Saxton commented that Roman wouldn't return until next week, and that Finn Balor would be out 6-8 weeks with a wrist injury.

"We really don't have to watch this," Becky whispered.

"I do."

She fell silent and watched as the match began. She could feel that Finnn's heart was beating quickly, but he didn't say a word for the duration of the 20-plus minutes. Cesaro locked in the sharpshooter a few minutes after 11pm and Michael Cole started shouting about how Kevin Owens was about to tap out to the most Canadian move in wrestling. That he did, and Cesaro lifted the belt, Finn's belt, over his head.

They sat in silence, Becky didn't know what she could do or say to possibly make this better on him. Then she felt something at the side of her neck just bellow her ear, and his lips fully came into contact with her skin.

"Finn…" she made out through half a moan.

"He needs you," The Demon said softly in his thickened voice. "He's just too proud to admit it."

"I'm cross with you, don' even."

"Becky," he nuzzled against her ear, "don't make me plead."

"Ya broke his wrist and nearly cost him his career!" she glared at him, feeling a knot in her throat. "I shoulda stopped you. I knew you'd hurt 'im."

"Well that's not exactly fair now is it? Anything I do is because it's what Finn...craves." His face scrunched up as he pulled away from her. "Finn chooses to hit his opponent harder than he should. I do the dirty work. Finn decides to jump off a steel cage at ten feet and try to knock Roman off his feet. I'm the one who has to follow through."

She crossed her arms looking down at his sling, but his eyes stayed on her.

"And for that matter, Finn wants you. He thinks about ya all the time. He closes his eyes at night and he fantasizes about you. Your eyes, your smile, your body. But who's the one who made it happen? That'd be me."

"If he wants me so badly, why hasn't he gone for it in 15 bloody years? Knowing I'd say yes?" She turned sharply to him, his face was stoic beneath the black eye. "Knowing that this is what I want? That he's the **only one** I want?"

That last line came out all choked up in her throat. His face softened and he moved a piece of hair behind her ear. It was the first time she'd ever seen The Demon look…sorry.

"You'll have to ask him that yourself, love." He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I'll see you in the morinin'."

She nodded, looking down with tears forming in her eyes. He stood up from the couch, but paused at the doorway.

"He's lucky to have you, that's for sure."


	13. Regimented, disciplined, focused

Chapter 13: Regimented, disciplined, focused.

The hot water felt good on her scalp in the morning. It melted the stress of the last couple of days off of her skin. Tipping her head back into the stream of the shower head she let out a deep sigh.

A knock came at the door. "Hey Bex, you mind?"

"It's okay."

On the other side of the frosted glass she could see the blurry shape of his boxer shorts. She took a deep breath as he turned on the sink and looked up at the mirror. It was impossible to tell where either of them was looking, but that didn't stop her heart from beating faster. Watching him lean over and splash water on his face, she rinsed out her hair and debated if she should wait it out or not. He fumbled with his trimmer for a few minutes, cursing every now and then as he tried to control it in his left hand.

"Ya aiight?"

He let out a long sigh and said, "yeah, I'm fine."

The sound of his electric trimmer stopped, he was clearly defeated. But he didn't leave the bathroom. Instead he leaned up against the shower door and spoke just loud enough for her to hear him over the running water, no louder.

"Listen Becky…"

She recognized The Demon in his voice.

"I wish I could fix all of this for ya, I really do. Finn's been wrestlin' with all of it for years, and I want…to…"

"To what?" Her voice was surprisingly clam and measured. "To give him some fun an' try to rattle his self-restraint loose?"

"Well…that's about all I can do. I can give ya that, I'm very happy to give ya that. What I can't give ya is anytin' more than what I am. He needs to do that."

"I just wish…I wish I knew what he was thinkin'."

"It's not my place, love." There was something different to it this time. His pet name usually came off the slightest bit condescending, but today it was warm and gentle.

She paused for a moment, knowing full well this was exactly what she had signed up for.

"Okay. It is what it is." Through the glass she saw him nod and start to head back to the bathroom door. "Finn?"

"Yeah?" She could hear the sly smile in his voice.

"Did you…did you wanna to join me in here?"

"Did I want to join you she asks," he slid the door open, shaking his head. "How long have we been doin' this?"

His eyes scanned her up and down as he stepped out of the boxer shorts.

"Ya gon' be aiight with that cast?" she teased, raising an eyebrow. "Not hinderin' you abilities now?"

"I suppose," he pushed her hips to the wall, keeping his good hand behind her head, and whispered into her ear, "you might havta pick up the slack."

xxxxxxxxx

Thirty minutes later Becky sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and her calendar. The blank space for the next couple of weeks was refreshing, but didn't stop the days from filling up with shows, press events and conventions the moment she got back to work.

"There more of that?" Finn asked as he passed her on his way to the kitchen.

"Yeah, but we're almost out."

The Keurig whirled and Finn rummaged around in the kitchen for a few moments.

"Hey, Finn?" she called behind her shoulder.

"What's up?" he returned with a steaming mug, blowing on it carefully.

"Are you goin' to Tom's wedding? I have to send mine in."

"Ah shit, I forgot about that." He ran his fingers through his hair and then looked at them, puzzled. "Why is my hair wet?"

"'Cause you took a shower?" Her heart started beating faster again.

"I took a shower?"

"What, is proper hygiene surprisin' to ya?"

"No I just…never mind. When's this thing?" he asked, drinking his tea in slow, careful sips the way he always did.

"Little over two weeks."

"Yeah, I suppose I got nothing else on."

"Finn,"

"Don't." He refused to meet her eye for a moment, "I'll go if you're going."

"Aiight." She shuffled through her pile of papers and pulled out an RSVP card.

"Am I supposed to have one of those?"

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "I'll write it on mine, it's fine."

"Thank you." He leaned back in his chair and sighed, "Tom's gon' try to set me up with one of her friends again huh?"

Becky felt her stomach drop but kept her voice steady.

"Would that be a bad thing?" She looked up at his cool gaze, "I mean her friends are all MMA fighters, they're pretty badass."

"Yeah I suppose." He leaned forward and took another sip. "But I jus' don't get wrapped up in that sorta thing. You know that."

"I do know that." Her stomach plummeted again. "But I don't actually know why. I remember you in Ireland."

A slight smirk broke out on his face and he blushed.

"Feeergal Devitt," she continued, grinning. "What a rock star. All the guys want to be like 'im, all the ladies wanna get with 'im. "

"You are exageratin'."

"I'm really not. You shoulda heard some of the gossip from those college girls who would come to our shows. Who was gonna catch Fergal's attention tonight?"

Now she was blushing too, remembering sitting in the back of the gym during his matches and hearing them giggle over him. He was always met with applause and screams, everyone there knew who he was. But those girls would cheer for him the loudest, and during slow points they'd laugh, discussing how well he filled out his trunks tonight. Sometimes he'd pass one of them on his exit and wink at her, and that always made Becky's hear plummet.

"That would be you now wouldn't it?"

"Sorry?" Her face turned red as she caught his eye.

"Who had my attention at the end of the night?" He sighed, "aiight, I'll confess. Did I go home with a few of 'em in those years? Yes."

She looked down at her tea, starting to wish she hadn't brought it up.

"But, there was only one girl I really wanted to hang out with." He smiled at her, "still is."

"So…what changed? What made you swear off women? You've never told me." She could feel herself slipping down the rabbit hole butt it wasn't enough to stop her.

"It was Japan," he sighed heavily. "I had just gotten there and started… gettin' involved with this **great** girl who worked next door. We met while I was runnin' my errands one day, showed me to where I was tryin' to go. She was so kind. The next day I made up some excuse to go see her again, and the day after that. It didn't take long, she was on to me pretty quick."

He laughed, his eyes twinkling. "There was something about her that felt like home in this strange city. She helped me with my Japanese and I told her about where I'd come from. For a few weeks there, it was almost perfect."

A pang ran through her chest and stomach. In all the time she'd known him, she'd never heard him talk about anyone like that before.

"But?"

"But I started slippin'. I'd go off to do my errands and I'd come back late 'cause I'd snuck in a visit to her. People talked. After the first time I met her at her apartment, I couldn't stop thinking about her for a week. Kept missin' cues, and botchin' moves. I lost every sparin' match they put me in, I'd come up short on my weight training. I was a mess. Just could not focus on anythin' else but that night. On anything else but her."

He starred at her with those crystal blue eyes. She wondered if he'd seen that in her after SummerSlam, if he knew what had been wrong.

"Eventually, one of the veterans called me out about it. In front o' everyone too, it was hell. But he was right, I needed to pull my head out of my ass and buckle down."

"You always did. You were the hardest worker in every room you walked into."

He shook his head, "more than that. I was near convinced that I loved this girl but I realized couldn't have both, not there, not then. An' wrestlin', it lights a fire in me, I love it more than anythin' else I've ever had in my life."

"I know."

"I realized that if I was gon' do this I was gonna havta put every ounce of myself into it. No distractions."

"An' just like that, decided no more women? Ever?"

He looked down again, stirring his tea with his spoon. "When you live your life a certain way for so long, it's all ya know. Regimented, disciplined, focused, it's who I am. An' well, it's gotten me this far."

"Sounds lonely," she said quietly.

The corners of his mouth turned up. "Don't be silly, I got you."


	14. Coaches and Students

Chapter 14: Coaches and Students

The heat of the complex felt good against Becky's cold face as she ran up the steps to the 3rd floor. November had brought a great chill to the relatively mild autumnal weather, and she realized that she'd gotten rather used to the nonstop sunshine of Florida. She was breathing heavily when she walked through the door to find Finn reading the paper with his right arm resting on the kitchen table.

"Hey," she said breathily, pulling out her ear buds as her lungs gasped for air.

"Told ya it was too cold," he didn't even glance up from the paper.

"Yeah, yeah." She tugged at the thermal sweatshirt that was sticking to her body. "I hate these heavy layers, it gets sweaty."

"You need to splurge for that wicking stuff. Where'd you buy that, H&M?"

" 'Ey you leave H&M alone."

He chuckled and glanced up at her as she pulled the thermal half zip up over her sports bra. His gaze froze, and she couldn't help but smile. Admittedly, the time home had given her some room to focus on her training and diet. On any given day her abs would be anywhere from a 2-6 pack, but this had given her several great days in a row. Plus, Tapout had been sending samples to every female wrestler on the roster, and she'd come around to the low cut sports bra that arrived to her doorstep. It made her feel good to have his eyes following her into the kitchen.

"Tryin' tempt 'im are you?" He was behind her in an instant.

"It worked." She laughed as he ran his hands over her stomach and pulled her towards him.

The thought passed through her mind that she had the upper hand, and that maybe she often did, but gave it up to him for some reason. She spun around and shook her hair out of its bun. The Demon had that firey look in his eye again as she leaned in to kiss him hard.

She felt his left hand grabbing at the backside of her tight athletic pants and she pushed herself onto the counter, wrapping her legs around his waist. He let out a soft moan as she pulled him in closer. Her hands were running up and down his chest and stomach, and his fingerswere tangled in her hair, at least. She had found her way to the waistband of his sweat pants when he pulled away.

"Uh Becky?" He glanced down at the countertop she was positioned on.

"You're kiddin' me."

"We make food on here!"

"Finn!" She looked up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Don't pout at me." He scooped his left arm underneath her legs but hesitated before lifting her off the counter. "This would be more impressive if I had both arms."

She pushed him away and slid off the counter, walking passed him towards her bedroom.

"I'll make it worth your while," he said closing her door behind him.

She slumped onto the pillows of her bed, propped up on her elbows, and watching his eyes on her and his devilish smile. Climbing on top, he struggled with the cast for a moment before pushing her down to the sheet. Her fingertips found the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it off, catching on his right wrist.

"This bloody thing…" he grumbled to himself, trying to find a position over her where it'd be safely out of the way.

But Becky wasn't paying attention to him struggling. She was running her hands over the bruises on his chest with a solemn look on her face. They were starting to fade, in comparison to earlier in the week, but still were distinctively black and blue. He noticed where she was looking and said softly,

"Hey. Don't be worried about those, they'll go away"

"I know…jus' hate seeing them." She ran her fingers down his torso, hovering on a particularly bad one across his lower abdominal muscle. "That one's nasty."

He flexed again, it was clear the time on the bench hadn't softened him. She laughed and met his gaze.

"You love to do that."

"You love it when I do that."

"Show off."

"I aim to please." He pushed her hips back against the bed, lowering himself down on his arm. She let out a gasp as his body came in contact with hers. "Am I hurting you?"

"No, no I," she took a deep breath, feeling his weight on her. "This is good."

"Good," he whispered, "I think we left off with your hands…"

He looked down as she ran them to the waistband of his sweat pants.

"riiight 'bout there." He turned back to her, eyes twinkling. "What was your next move?"

She didn't say anything, just began to run her fingers along the inside of his boxer shorts. He let out a murmur, and she could feel his heart beating fast against her chest.

"I don't have a lot of patience, love." He said after a few moments of her teasing.

"That's somethin' we have in common."

He kissed her collarbone softly, making her giggle and gasp.

"Just like that?" He whispered in her ear before returning to it.

She had tried to say a breathy "yes," but it was swallowed up by a moan as he pushed against her. Her fingers found themselves pulling at his waistband, and he kept his eyes on her as he grinned that toothy Finn grin that she loved so much.

xxxxxxxxx

"Yeah Becky's here, she's making eggs." Finn sat at the kitchen table Monday morning, facetiming with his mom. "Becky say hi."

He lifted his phone up to her standing at the stove, and she smiled over her shoulder.

"Hi Mrs. Devitt."

"Hi Becky, sweetheart."

"Apparently I'm not allowed to cook my own eggs," he said returning the phone down to his face.

"You're gonna burn yourself," she responded, not even glancing back at him.

He mumbled something to himself, but his mom had already moved on.

"What'd you two do this weekend?"

"Oh uh, just hung out really," something in his voice sounded nervous. "Nothin' special."

"That's nice. Oh, Fergal I'm sorry, I have to get goin', I just really wanted to tell you about the wedding."

"Thanks mom, I'll put it on my calendar. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye Becky!"

"Bye Mrs. Devitt." She smiled as she walked past Finn and placed an egg sandwich in front of him. "Wow everyone's gettin' married, huh?"

He put his phone back in his pocket. "Seems that way. I don't even remember that cousin. Don't tell her, yeah?"

She laughed and picked up her own sandwich. "Yeah I won't tell her you're such a bad son."

"Thanks." He took a slow bite and twisted the corner of his mouth. "Okay this is pretty good."

"And it's not on fire."

"It wasn't on fire! It just set off the smoke alarm…" He looked sheepishly down, "Hey uh, this is a really weird question but uh…"

"What?"

"What…what **did** we do this weekend?"

"Sorry?" She felt her heart speeding up.

"I don't actually remember much 'bout the weekend…what'd we do?"

She knew exactly what they'd done all weekend. The Demon had been rather active since the shower on Tuesday. Maybe it was because Finn was having a hard time, or maybe he was just taking advantage of having her around so much. Regardless, he seemed to be restless. They'd hardly gone a day without him pulling her into a deep kiss or onto his lap. Then the weekend came, and she'd mentioned on a lazy morning that she only had another week left off the road. The Demon came out instantly. Thinking about it now, they'd spent most of the two days it in a steamy haze. Finn hadn't seemed to notice at the time, and she was suspicious that the days were starting to melt together for him in general.

"Like you said, just kinda hung out."

"Huh."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, but there was obviously something running through his mind.

"Does he ever say anythin' to you?"

"Sorry?"

"The Demon I mean. Does he say anythin'?"

"No uh…he doesn't seem to say much at all. Honestly I don't really notice it's him, unless you're jumping off of walls o' course. We don't really…interact." Her stomach dropped. That lie tasted terrible in her mouth as she said it.

"I just wish I knew why he was spendin' so much time these days."

"We watched that movie you really hate, the one about girl's football team? Maybe he came out so you wouldn't have to sit through it again."

"Oh god, again?"

"Shush. It's great."

"The music is good, but the bloody ending!"

"What?"

"I'm just sayin', I don't care how dreamy he is, coaches shouldn't date students."

"Yeah, you don't say." She raised an eyebrow and moved to the couch, not making eye contact. "You can clean up."

"Bex…" He sat down next to her. "I didn't mean to bring that up."

"Nah it's fine." She opened her book and buried her face into it. "Me neither."

"Becky…"

That wound had never fully healed. She thought back to that night all the time. It wasn't the first time they'd sat by the edge of the water together, or the first that he'd brought a six-pack of beer with him and told her not to tell 'd sit and talk and drink for hours, it's how they became friends in the first place. Somehow she'd had some unique courage that night as she listened to him talk about his big plans with a sweet smile on his face.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed."

"It's in the past, Finn."

"You go for what you want, it's not a bad thing. You're so fearless."

Or at least she had been that night. It was still a mystery to her where she'd found the bravery at that age to lean in and kiss his smiling, chapped lips. For a moment he'd kissed back, an arm sliding around her waist. That was the moment she relived in her dreams for years and years. Then he came to his senses, and pulled away from her like he'd been electrocuted. She felt her eyes welling up with tears as she began to apologize, but he'd insisted the blame was on him. That part stung the most, when he'd told her all the reasons why he wished she had never done that. _Bex, I'm your trainer, I own the gym, I'm in a position of power, and Becky you're fantastic but you, you're...17._ His eyes were wide as he said it aloud, _Oh my god you're 17. How could I do this?_

"Didn't we make a deal about this?"

He smiled a bit and said, "yeah, you went for what you wanted then too."

Finn had been incessant after that night. Outside of the ring he'd treat her like she was made of glass, constantly apologizing for the smallest things. She could see the guilt all over his face every time he spoke to her, and any time they found themselves alone he'd apologize, again, for kissing her. One day she'd had enough, slammed her locker closed and told him they'd settle it the only way they knew how, in the ring. _If you win, you shut your mouth and we don't interact outside of training. I win, you_ _ **shut your mouth**_ _and we go back to how things were before._ That wasn't really what she had wanted, but it was good enough, and 15 years of his friendship proved it was worth it.

"I let you win, you know that right?"

She snapped out of the memory.

"Excuse me?"

"That match, where we made that deal? Hey, it's not that I didn't think ya could beat me fair and square, in fact I knew you could. I just wasn't willin' to take that risk."

"Why?" She looked at him puzzled, he was looking down at the cast on his wrist, refusing to meet her eyes.

"I realized how much I didn't wanna stop havin' you around, or spendin' time with you. So I threw the match."


	15. Becky Lynch's Day Off

Chapter 15: Becky Lynch's Day Off

A/N: Think it's worth pointing out that while I love Finn and Becky as wrestlers, their fictional characters in my fictional story are...questionable. But complicated and super-flawed characters are the most fun. Are you guys rooting for them? I haven't decided if I am yet ;D. Anyway, this chapter's mostly fluff so no grabbling with complicated feelings towards The Demon today.

"Are you sure you don't want a smoothie?"

"I really don't want a smoothie," Finn responded, leaning up against the kiosk in the local mall.

"And you're not going to want to drink mine?" Becky handed the teenager behind the counter a bill, glancing over at Finn.

"You realize how much sugar they put in those things?"

Becky shrugged as she took a sip of the pink concoction, and they started walking towards a department store.

"You know ya really don't have to come in with me, I can just drop ya at the Lego store and come back in and an hour."

"No, you asked if I would go shoppin' with ya," he ran his fingers through the top of his hair, "and I said yes."

"That's actually not what ya said."

"What? I, yes it is."

"No, you said," she cleared her throat and put on a half-assed impression of his voice " 'I would love to put on real pants.' Which I took as a yes, but,"

"Aiight aiight," he said as they came upon racks and racks of formal dresses, "well someone has to hold your smoothie now huh?"

She handed it over to him and started browsing.

"What're you lookin' for?" he asked, scanning over the mass of dresses.

"Something long, preferably black."

"Long?"

"It's a black tie wedding, you wear long dresses," she pulled out one and laid it across her arm.

"It's…it's black tie?"

"Did you read your invitation?"

"Bex you should know by now I didn't read that invitation."

She sighed and pulled a few more from a rack of black dresses.

"Isn't black bad luck for a wedding or somethin'?"

"Maybe in 1965." She glanced over at him with a sly smile, he was sipping the pink smoothie. "Oy!"

"What?" he removed his lips and smiled guiltily. "How about that one?"

He nodded towards a mannequin in a strappy floor length black gown with an open back.

"Seems like your style."

"Yeah it is it's a little…" _revealing._ "yeah let's find it."

A few dresses later, he sat in a chair outside the dressing room, and she could hear him slurping again. She rolled her eyes as she pulled her hair to one side and slipped into the dressed he'd picked. It hugged her body, but wasn't inappropriately tight or low cut. From the front it looked almost modest, but turning around the dress highlighted her strong muscles and framed the small of her back.

"Think you picked a winner Finn." She called out to the other side of the dressing room door.

"I'm jus' that good. D'ya need a second opinion?"

She looked over her shoulder at the back again and smiled slyly to herself.

"Nah that's aiight."

xxxxxxxxx

"It comes with a Batman and a Scarecrow and," Finn was chattering enthusiastically as he sipped his beer.

They sat in a booth at the mall's sports bar much later in the day, their shopping bags taking up a seat themselves. Becky smiled at him as he told her about the Lego set he had purchased after deciding shoe shopping was his limit.

"Can they fly the helicopter?"

"Well, sure but, you wouldn't want Scarecrow to fly the helicopter now would ya?" he said earnestly, making her grin.

"I'm glad you're excited."

"Yeah well, I gotta have somethin' to entertain myself once you're gone."

"Finn," she said softly, but he shook his head.

"I'll be fine. Oh look, food."

The waiter approached their table with two plates of burgers and two towers of fries.

"What were you sayin' 'bout all the crap in that smoothie again?" she teased.

" 'Ey now, this is turkey and those are sweet potato fries. They're healthy."

"They're not. But they're delicious." She reached over the table and grabbed one. He protested but slumped into his seat.

His phone buzzed as he took a bite of his turkey burger. He looked over at it and furrowed his brow.

"What?" she asked after finishing a bite of hers.

"Xavier says 'have you seen twitter?'"

He wiped his hands on a napkin and clicked the icon with one finger. She watched his eyes as he scrolled, still puzzled.

"Everyone's been tweetin' at me about your photo shoot?"

She felt her face flush. "Uh they did one of those 'days off' things with me a few weeks ago. Ya know the kind, sexy pajamas around the hotel room." She rolled her eyes a bit.

"Right, why's everyone askin' me about it?" He looked up at her and took another bite. She shook her head.

He clicked the link on his screen and pushed it to the middle of the table. Her heart sped up a bit seeing the first photo in the album. Her lounging around the hotel room in super short 70's style shorts and wrapped in a waterfall cardigan. It was one of those shoots where they'd tell her to be 'natural but also sexy.'

"Not any worse than the bikini shoots they've had me do," she shrugged and returned to her meal, deciding that the internet just thought it was funny to make sure he'd see it.

"Yeah, I mean, you look great," he nodded, but kept flipping through the album. A few photos in his eyes lit up and he said, "oh."

"Oh?" she glanced over but he'd picked up the phone to get a better look. "What's oh?"

"I see." He was blushing and a grin had broken out on his face.

"What is it?" Now she was the one with a furrowed brow and a puzzled look.

"No it's, it's not a big deal, it's just this shirt," he laughed as he turned around his phone.

This shot was without the cardigan, and she wore an, admittedly slightly skimpy, white _Adventure Time_ tank top over a black bra. Instantly she realized what everyone was talking about.

"They wanted something to show my personality," she dismissed it, trying not to turn red. "A fan sent me that from their Etsy shop."

"Yeah it's jus'…it's a Finn." His dorky smile wouldn't go away.

"Ya don't have the market cornered on the name Finn."

"It's just funny."

"Eat your fries or I'll eat them for you."

He put down his phone and picked at them, the smile not gone from his face.

"How many people noticed that?" she asked quietly.

"A lot." He smirked again.

"Great."

"Oh c'mon. Coulda been a Seth shirt or a Kevin shirt. I'm not that bad am I?" he said, taking one last bite of his burger.

She let a little smile creep onto her face. "Suppose not."

He started flipping through the album again.

"What now?" Becky asked as the waiter came to clear their plates.

"Nothin', jus' wanted to see the rest of the photos." He shrugged and pushed the phone towards her on the table. "They came out well."

She reached into her bag for her wallet, but didn't take her eyes off his face as he browsed through photos of her in the tight-fitting outfit. Reading with a coffee, ordering room service, gazing out the window. His expression gave nothing away, though she thought she saw his eyes light up every now and then. A bit of pink had risen into his cheek, that was for sure.

Towards the end of the album, there were a few pictures of her stretching on the floor of the hotel room. He paused on one, a deep lunge leaning over her right knee. She remembered rolling her eyes a bit as she looked down at what was spilling over her tank top. It wasn't a huge amount, just enough. That's how these photo shoots usually would go. Her head was tilted and her hair was cascading down one shoulder in loose curls. A coy smile was on her face, one of the other girls had shown her how they made that perfect expression.

He let out a low whistle and she felt the blood rush to her face. Her eyes shot up to his, expecting to see The Demon looking back at her. She didn't find that, instead Finn had blushed himself and smiled toothily.

"Sorry… you look really great, Bex, ya should be excited about these. You'll want those photos when you're 80 and tryin' to remember your glory days."

"Excuse you," she smiled, but her heart beat wouldn't relent, "I'm a be the hottest 80 year old."

"I'm not doubtin' it," he threw up his hands, but the red hadn't faded from his cheeks either. She wondered if that whistle had slipped out by accident.


	16. Even

Chapter 16: Even

"I've got an appointment next Friday before I fly down to LA," he held a fork with his left hand, trying to cut through a dumpling on his plate.

"If it goes well, they should be able to give me wrist brace and start rehab."

"That's great."

Becky watched him, twirling her noodles with her chopsticks as he gave up and stabbed the dumpling in the middle, shoving it into his mouth whole. They made eye contact and she laughed.

"What?" he said with his mouth full.

"Did you…want help with that?"

He chewed for several moments, took a sip of his steaming tea, and then finally said,

"No, Bex, I really don't need you to cut my food for me, thanks."

"Aiight." She took a bite of her noodles.

"I'm not some helpless," he tried stabbing another dumpling, but it slid away from his fork, "incapable…ugh!" He tossed down the fork.

"Finn, calm down."

"I can handle myself. Wrist injury and all."

She shook her head, "I was just trying to help."

"I don't need it."

"Oy! I know you're frustrated but you don't have to take it out on me," she said briskly, getting up to clear her plate.

He followed her to the kitchen.

"I jus' want this damn thing to be over already. I'm tired of not bein' able to wrestle, to train properly, I'm tired of you actin' like I need to be taken care of."

"Well luckily you won't have to deal with that anymore, huh?" She grabbed a water from the fridge and tried to storm out, but he caught her arm, sighing.

"I'm not happy you're leavin' tomorrow, I don't want to see you go." He said it quietly, his demeanor changed.

"That's what it sounded like."

"No, that's not what I meant."

She yanked her arm free. "Then what did you mean?"

"I jus'… don't do well with this, bein' on the shelf. An' you walkin' around here cookin' my meals and sortin' my pills, it's kind of a constant reminder that I am."

"Well I hate to break it to you, but burnin' eggs and ignorin' your wrist doesn't make it go away. An' if you didn't want me around ya shoulda just said so."

"I do want you around."

"Jus' not when I'm doting on you? Not when I'm remindin' ya that you can't do somethin' for yourself? Bein' a reminder that for a few more weeks you are not Finn Balor, Universal Champion?"

That stung. She could see it in his eyes, he refused to meet her gaze. But the tears were welling up in her eyes too now, and she had already started.

"Is that it? Is that all me helpin' out around here is to you now? A reminder? Because honestly Finn, sometimes it feels like the only reason you wanted me here in the first place was to…to…" she caught herself in time, but he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"To what?"

"Nothin'," she shook her head, "never mind."

"Well in the interest of honesty Becky," his voice was hot and angry, "I don't really know why you decided to stick around in the first place."

"I told ya, someone had to take care of you."

"No, they really didn't, I can take care of myself. Was this really about me?" His eyes focused on her, squinting. "Or was this about you? You runnin' scared because Nia's had been knockin' you down for weeks when I got injured?"

It was her turn to feel that sting. No matter what they did, they were always evenly matched, even at knowing how to hurt each other.

"You think I'm scared of Nia?"

"Looks like it over here."

"Well then maybe your perspective's a little blurry, you don't know **anythin'** about what's goin' on with me if you think I'm scared of Nia."

"Yeah aiight, I'll agree with that part."

"Excuse me?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest, standing her ground.

"Jus' that you've been a little bit distant for a few months, no interest in talkin' about yourself. I can't get near your personal life with a ten-foot pole."

"I've been more worried about you, or did you not see the tape of that night?"

He shook his head, "it started before that. Since…well since I won the title."

"Oh don't go…"

" 'cause if you were upset or jealous you coulda just said so."

"I'm not **jealous** , Finn. An' obviously that's not really an issue anymore."

"Ha. Yeah. Obviously not."

He sat down at the kitchen table and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm not runnin' scared."

He lifted his head, "Well whatever it is, lemme know when you'd like to tell me what's goin' on with you. When you wanna quit hidin' whatever it is from me. You know, as your best friend and all."

"You're gonna play the best friend card now? After I stayed home for two weeks for you? Not for me. For you Finn."

"Yeah well I didn't ask ya to do that now did I?"

The tears were welling up behind her eyes again.

"Guess not." And with that she stormed off to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Becky collapsed on her bed and let the tears go. They'd known each other for so long, she knew exactly where to hit him to make it hurt, and he knew exactly where to hit her. You'd think after all this time they'd learn to stop it, but they fought so infrequently that it always came like a hurricane, wiping out everything by the time it was done. They'd be fine, they'd apologize tomorrow and… _tomorrow._ But she'd be on a plane to Colorado tomorrow, and back to real life. They'd still make up, but her little moments with The Demon would be relegated to two days a week, if he managed to push his way out. It was back to the way things were. Not that now was much more than what she had with him before, but at least there wasn't the constant reminder from all of their friends and co-workers.

A while later, a knock came at her door. He nudged it open and poked his head in, looking apologetic.

"Can I do anything for ya, love?"

She groaned, "you are **not** what I need right now."

"What, or who?"

"Will you jus' go? I can't with you right now."

"Jus' offering. G'night."

He closed the door and she wiped tears from her eyes, trying to figure out how she got into this situation in the first place.

xxxxxxxxx

It was still dark out when Becky finished gathering her bags and bundled up for the airport. Her car was on its way, and she rolled her stuff into the living room to wait. A note on the kitchen table caught her eye as she was about to leave.

 _Bex,_

 _I'm so sorry._

 _-F_

That made her smile, Finn always knew just what she needed, when she needed it. The Demon had come on to strong, trying to mend things physically with her before she had time to cool down. Maybe he was a part of Finn, but he didn't know her like Finn did. It wasn't truly him. Not in all his complexity, in all that made him wonderful. She took a pen from her bag and wrote bellow it,

 _Finn,_

 _Me too._

 _-B_

She sighed. They would be fine. They'd always be fine, that's what they were. But she felt a twinge of annoyance thinking about how she'd never have all of him.


	17. Friday Night Drinks

Chapter 17: Friday Night Drinks

Friday night drinks at these things were always treated like a scouting ground. Who are you hanging out with tomorrow? Who's going to make a fool of themselves? And for the singles, who are you maybe, possibly hooking up with? Sasha and Becky had found themselves a couple of stools at the hotel bar, sipping on their drinks and catching up. Becky filled her in on Finn's status, the steamy breaks with The Demon, and the big fight they'd had right before she left. He'd texted her a few dozen times in the week that followed, and things were largely back to normal, but she didn't like how he could tell something between them was off.

"Have you ever thought maybe…" began Sasha.

"What?" She knew she wasn't going to like this idea.

"Just… tell him?"

"Tell Finn?"

Sasha nodded. "You said it yourself, maybe he feels the same way deep down. Maybe if he knows it's already been done, he won't feel so nervous about it."

"Or, he'll never speak to me again."

"I don't think he'd do that."

"You don't know him like I do, trust is so important to Finn,"

"So then why'd you break it in the first place?"

Becky glared at her, and Sasha threw up her hands.

"Alright, alright backing off. I'm just saying this has gotten really out of hand, maybe you should've just told him that first time he asked."

"Well, I didn't, and now I'm stuck. I can't have him hating me, I can't. Hey Xavier!" She called over to him at the bar, desperate to exit this conversation.

"What's up ladies," he said as he walked over to them, "Hey Sash what's proper etiquette on Pokemon Go'ing during the ceremony?"

"Don't." They both said at once.

"Duly noted. Becky, I haven't seen you since Hell in a Cell, how the hell are you?"

"I'm good, I'm glad to be back in the ring."

"Your match with Eva was pretty good," Sasha nodded.

"Yeah she's aiight, just needs a steady hand that's all."

"Alright, but really," Xavier was grinning, "how many new Insta followers did you get after those Day Off photos went live? Cause you looked amazing."

"You looked really good," Sasha agreed.

"Uh oh a few," she blushed a little, "they weren't **that** revealing, right?"

"Nah, nah very tasteful. Very 'wouldn't you like to spend your days watching me order room service in my pajamas?"

"I think that's kind of the point of that series," Sasha laughed.

"Well Finn, here," Xavier said as he caught Finn and Sami walking over out of the corner of his eye, "already gets to do that."

"What do I get to do?" He asked, shaking Xavier's hand and giving Sasha a side hug.

"Watch Becky order room service in her pajamas."

"Oh, uh, lotsa pajamas, not so much room service in the apartment."

"Still luckiest man in the world according to twitter," Sami commented, "obviously because you're so beautiful Becky."

"Thank you Sami," she smiled at him, but caught the eye of Finn standing in between them.

They all laughed and Sami started asking Sasha about her last championship match against Paige. Finn leaned into her ear and spoke in a low tone.

"Can I borrow you for a minute?"

She nodded and they slipped away from the group, finding a quiet corner of the hotel lounge. He sat just a little too close to her.

"Your cast is gone," she commented, and he grinned as he wiggled his fingers from the black brace.

"Yeah it feels so much better. Rehab's been rough but, I'll pull through."

"I know you will."

"Listen, Becky, I…" he met her gaze. "I really am sorry. 'Bout the things I said?"

"Me too," she said quietly. "Maybe you an' me have a way of being too much inside each other's heads."

"Think one o' these days we'll learn to stop usin' it against each other when we're hurt?"

"Mmm, unlikely."

"Yeah, you're probably right," he chuckled. "Fightin' with you is always like fightin' with my sister."

Her heart sank a little, Finn always meant it as a compliment, comparing her to his sister. She was smart, and funny, and he loved her more than anything in the world. But that didn't make it feel any better to hear him equate the two.

"You know me better than anyone, ya know that?" he asked.

" 'Course I do."

"So you know that I'm jus'…frustrated with myself for what happened that night and just wishin' I hadn't let The Demon out?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I know that."

"It's dangerous, Bex. An' it's been…hangin' around a lot recently…"

Her stomach did a backflip.

"But anyway, you were right. I got cross at the situation, and I took it out on ya, and I'm sorry." He leaned over and kissed her softly on the crown of her head, shooting chills down her spine. "We aiight?"

"Yeah, we're okay. But you were wrong about me. I'm not runnin' scared of anythin'."

"Okay, I believe you. But somethin' is up with you," he looked down at her with a warmth in his eyes, "an' I jus' hope you know ya can tell me anythin'. There is nothin' you could say that would make me love you less."

She smiled. _Not so sure about that one Finn._

"There's nothin' to tell."

He nodded and stood up from the cushy sofa, offering her a hand.

"Sites set on anyone this weekend?" he asked, a little too casually as they started to walk back towards the bar.

"Why?" She shot him a side eye.

"I was jus' askin', I mean plenty o' eligible bachelors at these kinds of things…"

"What have you heard?"

"Wow aiight, no bullshit tonight, huh?" He looked over at her, blushing a bit, "Sami, jus' sorta asked me 'bout you earlier."

"Sami did?"

"Said you two had been hittin' it off before the draft."

"Yeah I suppose we were…why'd he ask you about it? Seems a little childish…" She pushed her hair behind her ears and glanced over to the part of the bar where their friends sat laughing.

"Uh well, it wasn't really a 'oh d'ya think she fancies me,' thing. More like askin' if I was aiight with him makin' a move… Didn't want to get in the middle of somethin' between the two of us"

She raised an eyebrow. "Between us?"

He pushed his hair back, "I mean. People talk. They always have, in Bray, in NXT. I've gotten used to it."

"So I take it you told him to go for it."

"Yeah, I said I didn't know how you'd feel about it, but that I didn't have any objections."

"That's nice of ya." She didn't make eye contact with him the entire way back to their spot, but she could feel his eyes on her the whole time.

xxxxxxxxx

Finn knocked at her hotel door at quarter of, and groaned when she opened it in a silken robe.

"You're not even dressed yet?"

"Calm down, I just have to put on my dress, c'mon." He slumped on her bed in his tailored suit and black shirt.

He didn't wear suits often, claimed to hate them, but there was no denying how good he looked in them. Becky had to pull her eyes off of him as she took her dress from the closet into the bathroom. She slipped it over her head and twirled her orange blown-out strands around her fingers.

"D'ya have fun last night?" he called from the main room.

"Yeah, it's nice to talk 'bout somethin' other than work with that gang." She filled her lips with a light pink lipstick and smacked them together. "Saw Sami lookin' over a few times."

"I told you nothing. Wow," the corners of his mouth turned up as she walked out in the slinky black dress. "Good choice."

"Thanks," she rolled her eyes at him in the mirror above the dresser. Picking up a small gemstone necklace she tried to attach it behind her neck and struggled with the mass of waves.

"Here." He came up behind her in the mirror, taking the necklace in his fingers and moving her hair out of his way. His hand traced down her bare shoulder and their eyes met in the mirror. The Demon smirked.

"I can see why you were savin' it, that's quite a first impression," he whispered in her ear as he fumbled with the necklace for a moment.

"Look, I'm glad to see you, but,"

"But?" He secured the clasp and ran his hand down her spine, causing her to have to swallow a gasp.

"But he shouldn't miss Tom's wedding, that's not right."

"I'll leave in a moment," he said, nuzzling against her ear again and pushing her hips into the dresser. "But he's not gonna tell ya how beautiful you look tonight, so I had to."

"You don't look too bad yourself," she giggled as he spun her around and her fingers found their way to his tie.

"Clean up aiight, huh?"

She pulled him into a kiss with it, and he chuckled,

"Careful darlin', thought you were kickin' me out?"

"Oh shut up." She pulled him in for another deep kiss and said, "how much time do we have?"

He smirked and patted the dresser top. "Enough."


	18. The Ceremony

Chapter 18: The Ceremony

They slipped into their seats next to Sasha and Xavier at the ceremony.

"Hey guys… they're about to start." Sasha kept her eyes on Becky.

"Oh… Damn…" Finn hadn't noticed the time on their walk from her hotel room.

"Yeah, I took a while to get ready." Becky jumped in, and he nodded, accepting the excuse.

"Oh you did?" Sasha caught her eye with a knowing look, but the music starting saved her from responding.

They stood as Tom walked down the isle and into his position.

"He looks so happy," Finn whispered in her ear.

"Yeah…" she smiled, glancing over at him.

Becky tried to focus on the ceremony, but her mind was anywhere but. She thought about the quickie with The Demon on the dresser, his face when she walked in that strappy black dress… Coming down to earth for a moment, she touched her neck and realized her necklace was twisted around to her back. She reached around and pulled the gemstone back into place. It caught Sasha's eye, and she raised an eyebrow to Becky's blushing.

Admittedly, she'd missed The Demon the week she'd been away. Sure, she talked to Finn plenty. Facetimed with him after her match on Tuesday night, and he'd texted her on Wednesday a picture of his grinning face next to the completed Lego Helicopter. But his hands around her waist, and his lips grazing her neck, those were things she couldn't match. Watching him smile at her over the phone screen, all she wanted was to tell him how much she missed him, but he wouldn't understand.

The vows were underway now, she could hardly keep up with the passing time. A sniffle came from her left side and she caught Finn's scrunched up face and blinking eyes.

"You crying?" she whispered, he shook his head sheepishly and they both laughed.

A couple in front of them turned around at the sound and she covered her mouth guiltily. He glanced over at her and mouthed _oops_ to a little snicker. She looked at his twinkling blue eyes, that big grin on his face. When he looked at her like that, she wished she could just lean over and kiss his lips. When she was younger, she used to wonder what it would really feel like, and these days she wondered what he'd say if she ever did.

Everyone around them stood, and getting to her feet, she realized how long she'd been staring at him.

"That was pretty painless," he whispered in her ear. She glanced back and him and smiled, looking again at that part of his lip that was always chapped no matter what he did.

"Very."

xxxxxxxxx

"I never want to have small talk ever again," Becky groaned as they made their way from the cocktail hour to reception.

"It's over now," Sami said, looking over his shoulder at her, "we're sticking together right?"

"Oh, we're not gonna be that clique at a wedding are we?" Sasha protested.

"I am in favor of bein' that clique at this wedding." Said Finn, who was leading the group.

They waited among a small crowd to find place cards, Sami handed Sasha's hers as he picked up his and scooted off to the side

"Table 12."

Finn scanned over the table looking puzzled. Becky reached over him and picked up one of the place cards.

"Think that might the issue," she said, handing it to him.

 _Rebecca Quin and Fergal Devitt_

 _Table 12_

"Oh…" his eyes lit up and he chuckled. "I guess that's what happens when you don't fill out your own RSVP card?"

"Guess so. C'mon."

"What's up now?" Asked Xavier as they started walking towards the ballroom.

"The planner must've thought we were a couple because we sent in one RSVP." Finn responded, looking around the crowded ballroom for their table. Hearing it aloud made Becky blush. The others laughed and Sami made eye contact with Finn saying,

"Oh,"

"Typical," Sasha said with a smile, and Becky shot her a glare.

They found their table and settled in, Sasha shifted for Finn to sit next to Becky, and him glancing over at Sami on her other side.

"Refills everyone?" asked Finn above the sound of the band.

Xavier sent Sasha with his order and Becky didn't bother moving. Finn would know what she wanted. But instead, Sami looked over her as he stood up and said,

"I got you, what're you drinking?"

"Oh, uh," out of the corner of her eye, she saw Finn also surprised as he had begun to stand "Vodka sour?"

"Make it two? You're the best," Finn called after Sami, sitting back down.

"I thought that was me," she teased.

"You're not getting me a drink."

She looked over at Sami at the bar. "It was a sweet gesture," she said quietly.

"But you're not feelin' it?"

"I really don't wanna talk about this with you."

"Aiight."

Sasha and Sami returned and Becky thanked him, but quickly moved her gaze away quickly. She sipped her drink and listened to the chatter of the group, never fully taking her eyes off Finn. Why did he care whether she was accepting Sami's advances? Was he hoping to help set them up? Honestly, there was probably nothing that would make him happier than his two best friends dating. _Nothing_? It sparked a strange anger in her stomach thinking that he was hopeful for Sami, at the idea that he didn't realize she belonged with him. Okay, in fairness, it wasn't his fault that he didn't know what they were doing under his sheets all the time. But it stung to think that maybe he just didn't feel it, their chemistry, or their compatibility. The heat between them even now as their knees brushed at dinner. He smiled at her with those shimmering eyes. _How could he not feel it?_


	19. The Reception

Chapter 19: The Reception

The party had been going all night, but Finn preferred to sit and watch from the table, and so Becky stayed back with him. They laughed watching Xavier, Sasha, and Sami dancing together to a variety of Top 40 hits and cheesy classics.

"I'm I gettin' you out there anytime soon?" she leaned over and asked softly.

"No, but you should go dance."

"I'd rather be here."

That made him smile, and he waved to Sami as he returned to the table.

"How's the dance floor?"

"Pretty fantastic, are you two going to sit here all night?" Sami loosened his tie.

"Mate, you know I am. But Becky here might still get out there."

She rolled her eyes at him. Across the room, Xavier and Sasha were dancing to a slightly slower song, enjoying spinning around together and laughing.

"I'll dance with you." Sami said with a slight smile.

"Oh, uh,"

"Promise not to step on your toes."

His smile was infectious, and Sami was a good guy.

"Aiight, let's go."

They found a spot towards the edge of the dance floor, and she placed one of her arms around his shoulder, the other holding his hand. He hovered around her waist and back for a moment.

"Not a whole lot of good hand placement options in a dress like this, huh?" he said, blushing.

They both laughed.

"Don't worry about it."

Sami was known for being a pretty good dancer and Becky was enjoying letting him show her how to do it properly. It was fun, for a couple minutes. Then, he paused, racking up the courage. She knew that look, she'd seen it plenty times before.

"Can I ask you something?"

Becky tried to keep a poker face, but sighed on the inside. She had hoped to avoid this conversation since Finn had let it slip last night.

"O' course, Sami." She smiled, hoping to just let him down easy and be done with it.

"What's with you and Finn? No, honestly," he said as he saw her face change, "he dodges that question every time."

"I thought he told you he didn't have any objections."

"Ah, so he told you." Sami sighed, but smiled, "Yeah I thought he might. Well, that's what he said, after about five minutes of explaining how great you are. Heh, as if I hadn't noticed."

"This is a strange way to ask a girl out."

"I'm just not trying to get in between something here. I think you're amazing, I do, but I also know soul mates when I see them."

She shook her head, "I don't believe in soul mates."

"Yeah soul mates rarely do. Look, I'm just trying to cut the bullshit here." He looked down at her and smiled, "I thought there might really something between us, but playing second string doesn't exactly sound like a good time."

"I'm…" she was at a loss, this was supposed to be simple.

"It's okay, you don't owe me an explanation." He shrugged, "I get it, you're in love with someone else."

"That obvious, huh?"

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious, but I've been watching you a bit closer than most."

They chuckled and she said, "I'm really sorry, Sami."

"Don't be. Look Becky, I know how special you are. What I'm not so sure of is why you're waiting around for him to see that. "

She looked down at the floor, a knot twisting in her stomach. The song was playing out. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you for dancing with me," he took a step back, and then said, "I hope he told you how beautiful you look tonight."

With that, and a sad smile, he walked off to get another drink at the bar. She stood there on the floor for a moment, feeling the knot in her stomach worsening. Suddenly a hand was on the small of her back, and she jumped slightly.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Finn whispered in her ear.

She nodded and he pulled her towards the garden, there were only a few others who had come out to the chilly November air.

"So I'm guessin' he struck out," Finn glanced over at her, "why are you the one who looks so dejected?"

"It's nothin'," she forced a smile, "jus' feel bad."

They sat on the edge of a flowing fountain, and Becky shivered as the wind shook a few of the trees around them. He slipped his suit jacket off and draped it around her shoulders with a simple,

"Here."

"Oh so warm, why'd they make these damn things so warm?"

"Probably so we can use it to hit on pretty girls," he grinned, and then blushed. "Not that I was…"

"Right."

"Did he say something?"

"What?"

"Sami," he leaned his elbows on his thighs, looking up at her. "Did he say something to you when you said no?"

"Oh, it's not…"

" 'Cause that's really not like 'im to be a jerk like that,"

"He didn't…"

"An' I can set 'im straight if ya need me to."

"Finn." She placed a hand on his knee to stop him, "that's not it. It's fine."

"Well you don' look fine to me." He reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and she shivered as he brushed the back of it. "What is it?"

"Okay. He asked 'bout you."

" 'Bout me?"

" 'Bout us, if there was somethin' he was gettin' in the middle of."

"But I already told 'im there wasn't."

"Guess he didn't believe ya. Now, you'd think Sami would've noticed nothin' has happened in 15 years." There was an edge to her voice she couldn't quite shake. "But he says he doesn't want to come in second and I don't blame him."

"Bex…" he said quietly.

"Because coming in second sucks." The words felt like ash leaving her mouth.

"Hey," he placed a hand around her shoulder, pulling her close to him.

"I don' wanna talk about this anymore."

Finn pushed to subject, "you could never come in second to me."

"Don't, don't patronize me Finn," she said softly, refusing to meet his gaze, "I hate it when you do that."

"You're the best friend I've got."

"Yeah," she managed a smile as she blinked away tears, "I know."

"Don't ya ever forget how much you mean to me," he pulled her in again, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

She took in the smell of his hair, he'd been using the same shampoo as long as she'd known him. Some budget brand, hardly unique, but it was distinctively Finn to her. They had almost always used her bed to avoid Finn getting suspicious of his tangled sheets, and the smell had started to rub off onto her pillows. It was a sorry substitution for lying next to him at night, but it would do.

His hand was rubbing her shoulder and she could feel his slow breathing. In moments like this, it was enough.

"Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Sorry?" she lifted her head, not sure she had heard him properly.

"You look beautiful," he repeated.

"Oh," was all she managed to get out. That made him smile.

"Hey lovebirds," Sasha called over to them as she and Xavier emerged from the ballroom, "oh fuck it's cold out here."

"They're wrapping up," Xavier interjected, "we going to this after party?"

"Sure, but I need to get out of these shoes," said Becky standing up and handing Finn his jacket back.

"I second that. I'll come get you in like 20?" Sasha asked, starting towards the elevators.

"Yeah, my stuff's inside."

"I'll walk you," Finn followed her back into the ballroom.

Their table was mostly empty as the ballroom was clearing out. Sami waved with a smile as he took his suit jacket from the back of his chair. Becky smiled sheepishly, rifling through the tiny evening bag to make sure everything was still in there.

"C'mon, back way," said Finn, pulling her arm as they followed the crowd to the lobby. There was a second set way on the other side of the massive lobby and lounge. He hit the up button looking very pleased with himself for avoiding the line.

"Good work," she rolled her eyes at him.

"Hey, I've been thinkin'. I want ya again."

"What?" She looked over at him in surprise, there wasn't any Demon in his voice.

"A rematch," the elevator dinged and they stepped in. "From that deal we made in Bray. I never gave you the chance to beat me on your own and that was wrong. So I want ya again."

Her eyes were steady on him, he was smiling, his eyes twinkling.

"What do I get if I win?"

"What do you want?" _Good question._ "Personally, I need a date to my cousin's wedding or I'm gonna havta fend off getting set up all night."

"Fine by me."

"What 'bout you?" He asked again, and she could feel the blood rushing up to her face as she thought about what she really wanted. She tried to fight off the image of his lips and his hands tracing her body, but it was no use. And like he had read her mind, or the red that had taken over her cheeks, Finn chuckled and said, "not that."

"Oh no I was just,"

"Uh huh."

"I wanna be able to eat on the couch," she quickly changed the subject.

His eyes widened, "you wouldn't."

"Oh, I would. Whenever I pleased."

"What was that other thing you were thinkin' about?"

"Nope. What're ya scared?"

"I'm not scared! Aiight. Deal." He reached out his hand and she shook it as the elevator arrived at the floor they were both on.

She pulled her key card out of her bag and swiped into her room.

"I'll see you down there?"

But he held the door open and caught her eye. It had gotten that fiery quality and the hairs on her neck stood up.

"Actually Bex," The Demon whispered, "I also want ya again." She nodded towards her room and the door had barely shut when he pushed her up against it.

Through a laugh, she managed to say, "be fast, we have to meet the others."

"Darlin', you should know by now that's my specialty."

xxxxxxxxx

He'd snuck out of her room and back to his down the hall, and she ran to fix her hair in the mirror. Between that and the party all night, it was puffing out badly. As she pulled it up into the best topknot she could manage, a knock came at the door.

"You're not even dressed yet?" Sasha said, walking into the room in a matching crop top and pencil skirt.

"I got a late start jus' gimme a minute," she riffled through her suitcase looking for an outfit.

"A late start?" Sasha crossed her arm across her chest.

"Sash…" She ran into the bathroom, slipping out of the slinky dress.

"What's that, twice in six hours? If I didn't know any better I'd say you two are out of control."

Becky emerged from the bathroom in a navy jumpsuit and slipped on flats.

"Sami asked me out," she said, quickly changing the subject.

"What? Damn girl, you've had a night."

"Well, sort of. He asked about Finn, said he got that I wanted to be with someone else."

"Oh, that's kinda a bummer," she sat down on the edge of Becky's bed.

"And that he wasn't sure why I was waitin' around for Finn." She blinked tears out of her eyes and took a last look in the mirror. "You ready?"

"No, sit down."

Becky sighed and sat on the bed next to Sasha.

"It's no big deal."

"Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"Not going out with Sami?"

"Letting yourself have part of Finn when you want it all."

"It's a lot better than nothin'."

"Are you sure about that? It's like being friends with benefits with The Demon."

Becky laughed through her tears, "yeah, that's exactly what it's like."

"I say you just tell him how you feel."

"He knows how I feel Sasha," she shook her head, "he's never going to choose me. He's had so many chances for so many years. It takes The Demon for him to do that."

"Then I think you should consider ending it with him." Sasha voice was soft, but her face was worried.

"I'll think about it, promise."


	20. Secret's Out

Chapter 20: Secret's Out

Becky collapsed on her bed Wednesday in the early evening, sore from her match the night before, and exhausted from the events she had to take care before returning home. Finn poked his head in from her doorway, smiling.

"It feels so good to be home," she curled up against her pillow, inhaling deeply. The scent of his shampoo was still lingering.

"Miss me?"

"Miss you? No, I missed the bed I haven't seen in two weeks."

"Ouch." He sat down at the edge of the bed, fiddling slightly with the wrist brace. "Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I grabbed something at the airport."

"Aiight, there's some leftovers if you get hungry. Made 'em all by myself too."

"Wow and didn't burn the place down? Very impressive."

"Yeah, thanks." He rolled his eyes. "Well, gotta admit, I've missed you."

"Have you?" She pulled one leg up to her chest and leaned forward.

He nodded, "you really made being on the shelf bearable."

"I thought I made it harder."

"I didn't mean that," he looked over, embarrassed, "you made it so much better."

"You'll be back at it soon. This isn't forever."

"It feels like forever."

"I know," she scooted closer to him, placing a hand on his knee, "but I've never in my life seen you get knocked down and not get back up."

He chuckled, dismissing the idea, but she kept on it.

"No, Finn, don't toss that to the side. I've never known anyone who has worked harder, or been more focused, or more dedicated. Or for that matter, anyone who carries themselves and treats people the way you do. You're gonna come back from this little bump in the road and you are gonna be champion again because when you set a goal, there's nothin' and no one that can stop you."

"What'd I ever do to make ya believe in me so much, huh?"

"Everything," she said earnestly. "Everything you do makes me believe in you."

"Becky, you are," he glanced up at her with a twinkle in his eye and that thickness in his voice. "So in love with him, aren't you?"

"I hate it when you transition that quickly."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't give me a great hold on 'im. But am I wrong?"

She paused for a moment, and then said, "no, you're not wrong."

"He's an idiot." The Demon shook his head and leaned into a soft kiss against her lips.

For a moment she paused, thinking about what Sasha had said about ending it. Thinking about letting Sami walk away because he knew he'd come second to Finn. Thinking about how much it hurt to hear him tell her how much she meant to him knowing he'd never cross that line. Thinking about how many lies she told him over the past months to keep this up.

For a moment, she almost stopped him. But then he was pushing her down gently, the fingertips of his right hand playing a strand of her hair, and his left teasing the hem of her t-shirt. She surrendered into the kiss.

Maybe it was being away from her, or the dress for the wedding, or the revelation of how much she wanted to be with Finn, but the Demon was particularly passionate. He still worked fast, but seemed to be extra attentive. She'd missed him so much since that Saturday night, cursing what she'd come to expect those last two weeks. It was harder now to be without him. Normal couples would send kissy faces back and forth, but that wasn't an option. Like usual, he got her gasping for air and tightly holding onto the sheets not long after they'd started. He chuckled, kissed the top of her head and began to lift himself up.

"Wait, Finn." Somehow, it wasn't enough this time. "Can you keep going?"

"Well, 'o course I **can** love, but," he said, half breathlessly, "I don't know if I should."

She pulled him down towards her. "Please? I really need you."

"Aiight…" he said, looking nervous.

She closed her eyes and went with the rhythm. The smell of his shampoo, the little dimples on his back, his calloused hands running all over her. She took them all in, holding onto that feeling for when he would slip out of her bed and back to reality. For when she couldn't have him. Her hands found their way into his hair and he shuddered. He was unraveling quickly, but she didn't mind, more focused on the ride than anything else. Finn gasped and started to move a little slower, and she meet it with a moan into his ear.

"Becky," he whispered. She loved it when he said her name.

"Finn," she said breathlessly.

"No, **Becky**. What the hell is goin' on?"

Her eyes snapped open to find that Finn's blue eyes were not on fire like before, but looking down at her, half mortified and half furious. That wasn't The Demon.

"What. **The hell**. Is goin' on here?"

xxxxxxxxx

"Oh my god." Her eyes were wide and she could feel the blood rushing up to her face as he scrambled off of her. She pulled the sheets up to her chest as he stumbled out of the bed and looked around frantically.

"Where are my pants?" he grumbled to himself and refused to look up at her when she pointed them out on the floor near his left foot. He clumsily pulled up a pair of striped boxers and then searched for his t-shirt and sweatpants. Finally, he sat down on the edge of her bed and buried his head in his hands.

"Finn I…"

"Okay, first of all," his eyes were hot when he met her gaze, "you need to put on clothes before we're having this conversation. I'll be in the living room," he grumbled.

He stormed out and tears were welling up behind her eyes as she pulled on a tank top and shorts. _You knew this could happen all along._ They'd been careful, like two married people in a heated affair.

"Finn," she called as she entered the living room. He was hunched against the counter of the kitchen, his face was bright red and his brow scrunched. "I…" she began, but stopped. What could she say?

"That was The Demon wasn't it?" His voice was tempered, but he was clearly restraining himself.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"You were having sex with The Demon."

"Yes."

"The Demon that lives inside **me,** an',"

"Yes, Finn, yes. Yes to all of it. Okay? I realize how bad this looks."

"How bad this **looks** Bex?" His eyes shot up at her, "I jus' woke up in bed with you, my best friend, someone who was supposed to look out for me when I get like that."

"I'm not tryin' to downplay it."

"Was this the first time?" He looked at her the way he always did when he asked a question he knew the answer to.

She didn't respond, just looked away trying to blink out the tears.

"Fuck. How long Becky?" He kept his eyes steadily on her, but he was losing the temperament in his voice. "How long have you been sneakin' around with The Demon behind my back?"

"It was, uh," she took a deep breath, "it was SummerSlam."

"SummerSlam? As in August?" his eyes were flailing up now. "You've been screwin' The Demon for three months?"

"You came on to me, okay?" Now she was getting angry too, if he could just let her a word in, she could just apologize and they could just move on. But Finn always needed every last bit of information.

"I came on to you? No, **I** didn't do anything. That was The Demon."

"Why are you so convinced he's not a part of you?" She took a step towards him.

"Are ya really gonna fight me on this? This. This right here."

"Well how 'bout it?" her heart was racing, but what was done was done, she couldn't back down now. "You really think he's some separate thing from you? That he just does whatever he wants with your body from time to time? That he's not you?"

" **It** is not me."

"Yes, he is."

"The hell do you know? I've been living with the damned thing my entire life, you think because you've gotten cozy with it under the covers for a few months you know it better?"

"He actually talks to me. Yes, **he**. An' has he ever done anything you didn't want to do? Deep down there? In those animal instincts?"

"I-" he stopped and looked at her, she'd never seen him this angry. "I didn't **agree** to this, **Rebecca**."

That sting ran right through her, he saved her full name for when he was particularly pissed at her. The worst part was that he was right.

"I'm sorry," her voice shook. "But…"

"But? How is there a but? You go and fuck The Demon for three months, you lie to me every day for three months, and now you're going to try to defend it? Please, go ahead, I would love to hear what ya come up with."

"I thought you hung the moon!" she spewed at him, tears streaming down her face, "for fifteen years! I've spent half my life waiting for you to just admit that there's somethin' between us. Waiting for you to decide you're gonna love me today. I would've waited another 30, or done anythin' you asked. I've been completely yours since the moment we met, an' you play with me."

"No, I don't,"

"Yes. Fergal." His face scrunched up, he didn't like her using his real name any more than she did. "Yes, you do. All the bloody time! You flirt and you tease and then you pull back the second you get too close. Why? Is it fun, watching me pine over ya?"

"That doesn't change-"

"I know it doesn't change that what I did was fucked up, but I think you know full well that I would've done anythin' to be with you. An' The Demon **is** you Finn. He's **your** desires."

"Fine, but it's not my actions. I wouldn't have done that because it's a terrible idea."

"Oh a terrible idea, here we go again," she scoffed and leaned against the counter.

"Don' start, you know what I think."

"Yeah, well The Demon seemed to think otherwise. A lot."

His eyes shot up at her again, there was so much heat in them, and she recognized the look.

"Spare me the details." His voice was dripping with poison now.

"Are you jealous?"

"Don' be ridiculous, o' course I'm not jealous."

"Oh, 'cause you look a little bit jealous right now." She took another step towards him, closing the gap between them. "God Finn, why is it so hard for you to admit that you want me? Why is it The Demon is the only one who tells me the truth 'bout it? Ya know, if you would just quit bein' a coward about this…"

The word was out of her mouth before she knew it, she instantly regretted it, and a new anger came over his face. In an instant, his hands were on her hips, pushing her against the cabinets. She gasped as his face came within an inch of hers.

"Is it the truth you're after?" his voice was low and his eyes were steady on her.

She tried to keep her eyes on him, stare him down like she always did. But his hands were flirting with the bare skin between her waistband and the tank top's bunched edge, and it was making her knees weak. When the words wouldn't come, she settled for a nod.

"Fine." He pushed against her a little harder. As she gasped at the contact of their skin, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and whispered into it.

"Yes, all of that desire comes from me. You don' need to tell me the things he did for you, I know exactly what they are. I've thought about 'em plenty."

That made her shudder, and he smirked a little bit, but there was no demon in his eyes. This was something completely different.

"An' anythin' he did, he got from me. I'm the one who knows ya, Bex. The one who knows how ticklish the top o' your ear is."

She felt the tip of his tongue running along it, and a moan escaped her mouth as her knees buckled from the touch. He held her tightly with his left hand and chuckled.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he locked his eyes on her. "An' I'm the one who's always catching you lookin'." He licked his lips, grinning and raising an eyebrow. She felt her face flush hard,

"Oh, if you think you're sneaky, let me tell ya how many times I've seen you undress me with your eyes."

His words were making her stomach do backflips and sending shivers down her spine.

"Oh don't be embarrassed, I'm guilty of it too," he was grazing his lips along hers, just barely touching. She almost tried to lean in and really kiss him, but he kept her at bay.

"In fact, I'm also the one who knows just how fantastic you'd look," his fingertips followed the edge of her neckline, making her gasp. " 'Cause you used to wear those tiny swimsuits down in Florida. An' if it was to get my attention, boy did it ever work."

She was struggling to maintain her composure. Every touch made her moan and shiver as he ran his hands over her exposed skin. His smiling lips were hovering just above hers.

"Finn…" she said, half a whimper.

"What d'ya want?" he taunted, "ha, as if I didn't know already."

His hand was around her wrist, guiding it under his shirt, up and down his chest and abs.

"Probably a little of that," he raised an eyebrow as she blushed and closed her eyes, "yeah, I thought that might be what you'd like, considerin' how often you drool over it. "

His hands were running up and down her sides, and she gasped when he brushed against her chest. She grabbed onto his waist tightly.

"Oh is that what ya want? Or maybe…" he pushed up against her, throbbing. She didn't even attempt to hold back the moans, "Like that?"

"Oh god…"

Finn's hands all over her, his lips on her skin, the feeling of him wanting her, it was overwhelming. He slid his fingertips up and down the front of her thin tank top, pushing up against her, and kissing her neck until she was breathing heavy and in a daze.

"Is this what ya want Bex?" He shook his head as she moaned softly, and repeated, "Is this what ya want? C'mon, say it."

Breathily, she managed, "I want you, Finn, I want you."

He stopped suddenly. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, waiting for him to pull her into his room. Instead, he tilted his hips away from her, pushing her hands out from under his shirt, and locked eyes with her.

"Never call me a coward again," he growled, turning his back on her and walking out of the kitchen.

She heard the clink of him grabbing his keys before the front door slammed shut behind him. Breathlessly, she sunk to the floor and ran her hands through her hair. _Fuck._


	21. Apologies

Chapter 21: Apologies

An hour later she was lying on the couch when the door opened. When their eyes met, his were soft and sad. He took off his leather jacket and took a seat in the armchair, leaning forward and looking down.

"Becky I am so …" he ran his fingers over his beard, "ashamed that I did that, I… I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry Bex,"

She sat up and scooted closer to him. "Yeah, well, I'm sorry I slept with The Demon… all those times…"

He chuckled lightly, "man are we good at fuckin' up." Finn reached over and wiped some smeared mascara from under her eye. "I'm guessin' neither of those washes out the other?"

"No," she shook her head "not with you and me."

"So I gotta fix this before we talk 'bout… that."

She nodded, "it was dumb I actually thought…"

"I made you think that," he looked down, "what possessed me to do that, I couldn't tell ya."

"That wasn't The Demon… if you were thinkin'… I know 'im."

"I know. That was all me. It was a power play, an' a nasty one at that"

"But it was the truth?"

He paused, looking into her eyes. "That was the truth. So I think you were right about The Demon being a part of me."

"Oh, you sure? He always follows through."

A small smile came across her face as Finn looked surprised and then laughed.

"Obviously there are some… things buried in there I haven't really dealt with."

"Yeah, I'd havta agree with that."

"I always thought that I was ownin' my demons, but maybe they're jus' as restless as everyone else. I jus' happen to give 'em a home too."

She nodded, not saying anything. The knot in her throat hadn't gone anywhere since he'd left her hanging.

"It was cruel of me, an' I'm sorry." He reached his hand behind her head, kissing her forehead lightly.

"I wanna just say it's okay, but…"

"It hurt. No, I understand. Suppose now there's no use denying what you said about me flirtin', and teasin', and then pulling away when I get too close."

"It's what ya do."

He looked at her apologetic, "I'm a stop compartmentalizing that stuff, I'll work harder. If that's any consolation."

"Yeah, a little."

"An' if it makes you feel any better… really wound myself up there too," he looked over at her sheepishly and blushing.

A smile broke out on her face, "serves you right."

"Yeah, I know. Do you, uh… need me to, you know, finish what I started?" The pink was rushing in his face.

"No, I really don't need a pity shag," she shook her head.

"I know. I mean, I want to, and if you needed it too…" he shrugged, looking a little bewildered at the words coming out of his mouth.

"You don't owe me…"

"I know."

She met his gaze and he smiled, saying, "I'll do whatever you want."

They looked at each other for a moment, before Becky said, "Stay there,"

Feeling his eyes on her, she stepped out of the shorts and curled onto his lap. He breathed heavily as she tugged down the waistband of his sweatpants and boxers, but relaxed once she was in position.

"This aiight?"

"Yeah, this is… oh…" he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a kiss. It was softer than The Demon's. After a few moments of them moving in tandem, he looked at her and whispered, "this wasn't what I was expecting."

"You said whatever I wanted."

"I know, I jus' thought after all that you'd be a little more…"

"Dominatrix?"

"Punishing, yeah."

"No, I jus'…wanna take my time."

He let out a soft groan as her hips shifted, "take all the time you need."

xxxxxxxxx

Morning broke outside her window and Becky lay in bed for as long as she could defend. Outside her door, she heard Finn stirring, taking a shower, turning on the Thanksgiving parade, and making breakfast. Her stomach was growling by the time she admitted she needed to just get up and face him.

"That smells good," she said, leaning on the counter.

He turned at the sound of her voice, his eyes looked heavy. "Soon I'll be onto bacon."

Pushing the lid of the waffle iron up carefully with his braced hand he slid the waffle out and onto a plate with his good one. He handed the plate to her, catching her eye as he turned.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Are we aiight, from last night?"

"Yeah, we're okay."

He nodded and they ate, not speaking, idly watching the American holiday coverage on tv. Sasha had invited Becky home with her, like she did every year, but she was so exhausted from the road, all she wanted was to come home to Finn. She was starting to question that choice as she felt his eyes following her to the couch. He sat next to her, careful not to get too close, and looked over at her like he was waiting for something.

"Oh is it my turn now?"

"Cute."

"Finn," she sighed heavily, "I don't know what you expect me to say that I haven't said already,"

"Then don't, just listen." His eyes were calmer than they had been last night, but there was still hurt and anger lingering behind them.

She pulled her legs up to her chest, nodding her head and kept her gaze steady on him.

"This was a betrayal, Bex." His voice was low and measured. "Simple as that. You of all people know how important trust is to me. We work in a profession where every night we go out and put our lives in the hands of someone else. Without trust, we don' make it to the next match, so there is nothin' in this world I value more. An' in all the time you've known me, have I ever let down your trust?"

"No," she said quietly, looking down at her painted toenails. He lifted her chin up gently with his left hand, making her look him in the eye.

"That's 'cause you mean everythin' to me, and protectin' you will always come first in my book. But you didn't do the same for me. You put what you wanted before my trust and that… Becky, you had to have known how much that would hurt me."

"I'm sorry, I," she bit her lip, feeling the tears swelling up behind her eyes. "I got… caught up."

He snaked his arm around her and drew her in, making it hard for her to hold back. She managed, somehow.

"Y'know," he took a deep sigh, "I don't really blame ya for the first one. I know last night I kinda… blew up, but in hindsight, that first time… you said I came onto you?"

"You, or he kissed me, yeah. Didn't realize it was still The Demon at first actually. I thought… it was dumb." She shook her head.

"No, it wasn't, Bex, I thought about doin' it hundreds of times. Listen," he pulled away enough to meet her eye," I know that you want somethin' that I… don't think is attainable for us."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he shushed her quickly.

"We're not talkin' 'bout that right now, okay? I understand the impulse to take the opportunity. I can forgive needin' to… to know what it felt like jus' one time. But ya shoulda told me."

"You woulda been furious."

"I woulda gotten over it. But you didn't, you kept sneakin' around with 'im, and you lied to me about it. For months."

"I know, I know, you hate it when I lie to you."

"I **really** do."

"Finn I am… so sorry. I know, and I knew every time it was makin' it worse and worse, but I jus'… loved bein' with you," she met his eyes, the pity in them made her feel worse. "I know that's a shitty excuse."

"It's not the shittiest. Last night was…" he smiled, and started to blush, and she laughed, wiping away a tear. "Is it always that good?"

"Sorry?"

"The sex. Is it always that good?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'd say that was about par for the course." She was blushing too, now.

"Then it's still shitty but… not the shittiest." He chuckled awkwardly, "look Becky, I don' have a timeline here. I can't tell you when this is gonna be fixed, when we're gonna be okay."

"I know."

"But we are, that I can promise you, because you mean too much to me to let anythin' take you away. Even this."

"What can I do?" She turned to face him, letting his hand brush against her leg.

"Quit lyin' to me, for one."

"Done."

"I mean it, I never wanna hear another lie from you again. I don' care if Sami's tryin' to throw me a surprise party or if ya think my haircut looks stupid. 100% honesty, that's what I need from you."

"Okay…" she took a deep breath and his eyes locked on her. "I'm in love with ya, Finn."


	22. A Confession

Chapter 22: A Confession

"I'm in love with ya, Finn"

He sighed, "yeah, the second I said it, I knew this was where we were going."

"Set yourself up for that one."

"Guess I did."

"I've been in love with ya since the day we met."

"You were so young Bex, you couldn't possibly…" he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yes, yes I could, actually. Why do ya insist on tellin' me what I am and am not capable of?"

"I'm not, I'm jus' sayin' that I was jus' some older guy you had a little crush on. I've seen it a million times."

"Oh I'm sorry, I'll get in line, then, behind all the other teenagers fawning over ya."

"That's not what I meant. I'm sayin' it's normal. But it's not real and it's definitely, **definitely** not okay on my end."

"Finn! You're not my trainer anymore, and I'm almost 30!" She shifted her position, full of energy, "You don't get to use that as an excuse anymore."

"I jus'…" he met her gaze and leaned back, "there's a part of me that will always see that brave 15 year old girl when I look at you."

"You mean that stupid 15 year old girl."

"No, no I don't. Bex…" he leaned over, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "All I've ever wanted is to protect you. From the moment you walked in the door of my gym. You were this 17, well…"

She smiled as he chuckled to himself, "you were so eager, I knew you had somethin' special in ya. I had to pull it out of ya, no one else at that gym was gonna give you a chance, and I couldn't watch that talent be wasted."

"You made me your pet project."

"I made you my responsibility." He smiled up at her, leaning in slightly, "Ya know the other guys who came in with you, they used to get so pissy at me for givin' you more attention, or staying late to work with you, teachin' you everythin' I possibly could. But I didn't care because I knew you were better and you had what it would take. I would be dammed if that got thrown away 'cause some jackass trainer had no idea how to talk to a girl without insultin' her. Or thought it'd be a good idea to kiss her."

"Okay. But I'm not your responsibility anymore."

"Sure you are. That doesn't just go away, an' now every time you and me almost cross that line, I think, how am I supposed to protect you if I become the one who can hurt you the most?"

"Finn, you've been breaking my heart for years."

He looked down, "I haven't meant to."

"Look, I know I'm not really in a position to be making demands after everything that happened, but," she waited for him to meet her eyes. "Just tell me the truth… please?"

He sighed, pulling her onto his lap cross-legged, "The truth is I've never met anyone who makes me feel the way you do. No one I love spendin' time with more, no one I miss more when we're apart, and no one who knows me better."

He smiled up at her, pink in his cheeks.

"An' I think I showed my cards last night, physically that is."

She blushed, "Yeah, that was…"

"I'm not denying the chemistry."

"What's the but?"

"But I'm… scared. Of losing you, of not making you as happy as you think I will, of distracting from your career and mine. You wanna call me a coward, fine, but don't ever say that I haven't tried to protect you."

"Maybe you should let me decide if I wanna take that risk."

"Maybe one day I will. But not today Bex, not after everything that jus' happened with us."

She nodded, starting to move off his lap. But he pulled her back and pressed his lips to hers. Moaning softly into his mouth, her hands found their way to his hair. They pulled away, and Finn blushed.

"Sorry I… that jus' feels so damn good."

"Don't have to tell me."

"I won't do that again, promise."

"No complaints here." She slipped off of his lap, feeling his eyes on her as she walked out of the room.


	23. Epilogue

Chapter 23: Epilogue

The Royal Rumble was always Becky's favorite. Watching it with her brother back in Ireland, it was her favorite way to start the New Year. This year, she had found a corner backstage to compose herself, it would be starting in an hour and they were set to open. Hunter came by to wish her luck, so did a couple of the suits, but her fellow competitors generally knew to leave someone alone when they were about to have the biggest match of their career. Alexa walked passed, and locked eyes with her momentarily. She was clearly disappointed that she hadn't been the one to win the contendership, but didn't say anything. Finally Sasha came by, her title on her shoulder and an oversized sweatshirt over her gear, and leaned up against the wall next to Becky.

"I just want you to know, tonight when everything is said and done, I'm still going to be your best friend. And I really hope you'll do the same for me."

Becky looked over at her and smiled, "sure, but I'm a be the Women's Champion **and** your best friend."

They both laughed, "alright, alright. We'll see who's the better woman in that ring tonight."

"Yeah, we will."

"Hey. How're you? I know it's been easier to stay away from each other while this is happening, but I still care."

"I'm okay, Finn hasn't let The Demon get within 10 feet of me but,"

"Sorry."

"Needed to be done. Hey speak of devil."

Finn walked out of the designated interview room in his gear and open leather jacket. She'd seen him get called in to cut a promo on AJ Styles on the pre-show. Either he hadn't seen her, or hadn't stopped to say hello. He saw both of them looking over as he emerged.

"Hey!" he said with surprise, "How, how's it goin'?"

"Good," Becky felt her face flushing. "Yeah, it's good, Sasha here was just talking some smack."

"Wouldn't expect anythin' less. Heh. When are you guys up?"

"First."

"Oh! Great! Good luck, both of you."

"Thanks, Finn," Sasha smiled, "Enjoying being back?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's great. I've missed it so much."

"Aw, good."

"I'll, uh, let you two get ready then," he made eye contact with Becky and then looked away sheepishly before walking off.

"Wow," Sasha said.

"Yeah, I know."

"Has it been that awkward since he found out?"

"Some days more than others," she shrugged. "He's been a little conflicted. Goes between being' real upset about the whole thing, and smoldering stares and… that."

"I thought you guys started to work things out?"

"We did, but Finn's slow with that kind of thing. He needs to feel whatever he's feeling, and I have to just wait."

"He'll get there."

"Thanks, Sash."

"Becky, Sasha, positions," one of the crew members called to them and Sasha unzipped her sweatshirt.

"Team Bae forever?" Sasha asked as they walked up to the curtain.

"Let's go show 'em how it's done." Becky smiled, and took a deep breath as her music begun.

Sasha came out after her, holding the title up in the air and beaming. The bell rang, they locked up, but the rest was a blur. It was a rough fight, she could tell that much, but something with them was clicking in a way it hadn't before. She didn't know how long it had been, maybe two minutes, maybe twenty, but the crowd was on their feet as Becky got in a major suplex, throwing Sasha clear across the ring. Somehow, she got in position for the Dis-Arm-Her, and heard the bell ringing. She let go and got to her feet, hearing her music hitting and her vision going blurry from tears. The ref handed her the red belt and lifted her hand in the air. She looked over at Sasha, who had made it to her feet, holding her arm and wincing. They looked at each other for a moment, both crying, and finally Sasha pulled her into a hug.

"You earned that," she shouted over the sound of the arena, "but I'm comin' back."

They both laughed and Sasha lifted her arm to cheers. As she emerged from the other side of the curtain, Hunter and Shane were waiting to congratulate her, Bayley and Charlotte right behind them. Finally, as she made it passed them, she found Finn, standing quietly by himself.

"Ya did it," he smiled, and unable to control herself, she flung her arms around him. He squeezed her tightly, and kissed the crown of her forehead. "I knew you could."

xxxxxxxxx

"We're celebrating tonight, right?" Xavier asked as she and Sasha caught up to him and the rest of the boys.

"Champ buys," Sasha said, smirking.

"I'm exhausted, but maybe," Becky said, rolling her neck. "What did you do to my neck Sasha?"

"Oops."

They waved goodbye to the guys and climbed into Becky's rental car. Her phone dinged on the way to the hotel.

"Can you check that for me?"

"Yeah," Sasha put down her own and picked up Becky's from the cup holder. "Oh."

"What?"

"It's Finn, he asked you to come by his room before you go downstairs."

"Oh… he probably uh…"

"Wants to…" Sasha said in a sing song voice, raising her eyebrows.

"Stop."

"Celebrate?" she asked, grinning.

They pulled into the hotel and pulled their bags from the back.

"Here I'll take yours. Go meet Finn." There was still a bit of disappointment behind her eyes, but she smiled at Becky.

"Yeah, I jus'," she tried to inconspicuously pull the new title off of the top of her stuff. Sasha rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything as they walked into the hotel lobby.

"Have fun," Sasha smirked as she got off on her floor.

Becky knocked on his door to Finn's toothy smile.

"Hey! Uh, that looks good on you." He nodded to the title as she placed it carefully on his nightstand. "You were great out there, I hope ya know that. That was the best I've ever seen you, and that wasn't a low bar."

"Ya asked me up here to say congratulations?"

"Nah, I," he sat down on the edge of his bed. "I'm not tryin' to spoil your night, really. I jus'… hate things bein' awkward between us."

She sat down next to him. "I second that. You're givin' me whip lash."

"I'm sorry. Should we jus' make a call here?"

"You know what call I'd make," she said, moving closer to him. "I wanna be with you Finn."

"I know."

"You're the **only** one I want."

"An' is that the **only** thing that's gonna make you happy?"

She was silent for a minute, and then spoke softly. "I am never gonna walk away from you. If I had my choice, I'd pick your love over your friendship every time. But if I couldn't have that, I'd pick your friendship over nothin' every time all the same."

"I'd pick your friendship over nothin' too,"

"An' my love? Where do you pick that?"

"I... don't know."

"O' course." She flung herself back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. "O' course you don't know."

"Bex," he moved next to her on his stomach, "I am what I am. If you can't accept that, this definitely is never gonna work."

"Regimented, disciplined, focused, I know. I've heard the speech."

"An' you love me anyway, huh?"

She looked over at him, "yeah. I do."

"Well, I'm smart enough to know that's special, and rare."

"What're you saying Finn?"

"Not a yes. But not a no. Jus' both of us doin' our best, being honest with each other, figurin' it out as we go?"

"No more bullshit like the past month?"

"Promise."

"Okay. But ya gotta start meeting me halfway, ya gotta tell me what you want."

"What I want? Right now?" he blushed.

"Oh come off it." She pushed him playfully. "… why, what is it?"

"I jus'… What was the best he ever gave you?" There was a bit of a devious twinkle in his eye.

"Sorry?"

"The Demon. You said last time was par for the course. So what was the best?"

"Uhm," she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, "well when you broke your wrist we had to get a little creative... Didn't want to hurt you so we uh...I dunno, guess it got us out of our usual style... why?"

He grinned, "I wanna top it."

She looked at him for a moment, his eyes twinkling and biting his chapped lips. How many times had she thought about leaning over and kissing him? She had spent so long wanting him, that seeing that look in her eye took her by surprise. If she were really honest with herself, she'd have to admit that the past few months revealed that the Finn she had fallen in love with as a 15 year old never really existed. That perfect boy who could do no wrong was gone. He had his demons, just like everyone else, and she might never completely get all of him the way she wanted. She might have to settle for most, for flawed, for up and down, or for uncertain, but he wasn't the man of her dreams anymore. He was real. And he was Finn.

"You're on."

xxxxxxxxx


End file.
